“I was 78kg at my heaviest when I decided one night that I had to do something, that my weight was out of control and I didn’t like the person I saw when I looked in the mirror. I’m 152cm tall and small framed so that weight looked horrid on me. I didn’t like that I had no nice fashionable clothes to wear. I felt alien in my own skin, I felt older then I was because I was dressing older then I was. Still getting around in maternity wear long after my baby was born. At that time my clothes were getting tighter and I refused to buy more in a bigger size.
I had a bag full of ‘skinny clothes’ to inspire me and get me motivated. Stuff that I wore when I weighed 59kg’s, before I had my two children, clothes that I had held onto, believing someday I’d get back to wearing them. Well I managed to fit into those clothes but didn’t get to even wear them for long because the weight kept coming off so I passed them on to a friend that was also losing weight at the time. That was a moment when I realized how well I had done. I have a whole new wardrobe of clothes now, size 8 and even some size 6, beautiful, sexy, feminine, in fashion clothing…and some ultra-cute gym wear (I just love Lorna Jane)
So that night at 78kg, I had decided, enough was enough, I was going to make changes, I was going to lose weight and get healthy. It all came down to choices and changes. The direction of your life and of your health can depend on the choices you make. You’re faced with them every day. Eat that cake, don’t eat that cake, do some exercise or stay on the couch, just settle for take out again or prepare a healthy home cooked family meal. I always took the easy way out. I’d try to exercise, but in the end it just felt too hard, I’d rather settle in front on the TV then get up and move my body.
I was an emotional eater, I binged on sugary junk. I over ate, my portion sizes were ginormous. If there was junk in my house, I had to eat it, and I had to finish it. It was not uncommon for me to chow through a whole packet of biscuits or tub of icecream in just a few days. I’d try to hide my overeating, carefully disposing of packaging so my partner wouldn’t see what I had done. But there was no hiding the fact that food disappeared. I hated the shame I felt after I binged. I’d eat while he was at work or in the middle of the night. I had no energy; I felt sluggish, lazy and in a way unsatisfied with my life. Although I had all I could ever dream for, a loving partner and two beautiful kids aged 4 and 1, I had no motivation. I was making all the wrong choices. I needed re- programming and I knew that I was the only one who could change me. My Dad was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and I knew I was heading that way if I didn’t do something. I’d tried in the past, and sometimes I succeeded in losing a few kilograms, but then I’d have a little set back, have a pig-out and it would be all over. I was the Queen of self-sabotage; I was always blowing it and then waiting for a ‘Monday’ to start again.
So I decided to enter a ‘12 week challenge’ that I had been following in a magazine for years, reading all the monthly success stories and telling myself ‘that could be me’, if I could only follow through for once. I had entered a couple of times over the years but could never finish. Never really even get passed the second week! This time when I entered it something clicked, I wanted it, I made that decision to commit, I made that decision to get healthy, I wanted to be a good role model for my kids. I wanted to finally feel good about my body. I wanted to be a yummy Mummy, not a frumpy Mummy.
In November 2010 I joined the local gym, and I went as much as I could, but without conforming to a strict routine. I changed it up, weights some days, cardio others. Sometimes I participated in the gyms classes. Same with diet I didn’t set myself any strict plan, I just made healthier choices and limited my carbs, especially with dinner. I started doing a grappling martial art called Brazilian Jiu jitsu. It’s my new found passion and it’s an awesome workout too! I use to do Jujutsu as a teenager and I enjoyed it. I had always wanted to go back to martial arts, but my weight had held me back. When I found out the gym I joined held Jiu Jitsu, I was excited and pushed myself to go, although I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to keep up! The class instructor was great and he pushed me from the start, I use to really struggle to do just few sit ups or star jumps!
When that 12 week challenge was over I had lost 9kg’s! I felt fantastic but I still wasn’t ‘there yet’. So on the 27 March 2011, I started my second challenge, an 8 week one my gym was holding. It was a ‘couples’ challenge, my partner was a girl I had met at gym. My start weight was 62.2kg and body fat 24.3%. During that challenge I changed my workouts a touch, I added in some heavier weight training to build some muscle. I did about 3x cardio sessions a week during the first 4 weeks and then stepped it up to 5x a week for the last 4 weeks. The cardio I did was mainly gym classes and walks on the treadmill on highest incline or I used the spin cycles. I also tightened up my diet, making sure it was clean and adding it a lot of protein. At the end of that challenge I weighed 54.7kg and body fat was at 19%. I’m very proud to say that my partner in the challenge also had a great reult and we came first in the competition. We won a great prize that included free gym for a year, 20 free personal training sessions and a makeover & photo-shoot. But I still wasn’t ‘there yet’.
I felt I wanted to lean up just a little bit more. By this time my life was completely different, I felt like a whole new woman. Full of life and energy and feeling like I could achieve ANYTHING if I put my mind to it. So when my gym advertised for another challenge, a 10 week one, I entered yet again. I was at a healthy weight and looking great, people couldn’t understand why I’d want or need to be doing another one. But I had my 20 free Personal Training sessions to use, and I still wanted to tone a bit more, and I had a goal of getting me some abs for summer. I wanted to challenge myself, but it wasn’t about trying to win this time, it was about pushing myself to new limits and seeing what I could achieve, how far my body would go. I stepped up my cardio, I started to run. I had always had made excuses not to run, I use to say, oh I CANT run, I have asthma, I just CANT run…. but I found out I can run, and I enjoy it. I’m still only beginning my running journey, but now I can run 10km on the street in just over an hour and 10km on the treadmill in just under. That’s a huge achievement for me. For my cardio I also did short intervals with high bursts of intensity. I changed my weights training to lower weights at higher reps. I used two sessions of Personal Training a week, and my trainer Paul was fantastic, I don’t know If I could have done so well without him. We did a lot of circuits with supersets and plyometric training.
Last week I completed that 10 week challenge at 51kg and body fat 16%. My abs even came out of hiding! I’m very, very proud of myself. I feel like a super woman. I feel strong, I feel fit. I’m in the best shape I have ever been before. And most importantly I feel like now I’m a good role model for my kids.
It took me just under a year to get to where I am, and now at my goal weight, so what next for me now? I’ve decided I want to become a Personal Trainer so I can help and motivate others. I’ve started my certificate in fitness and I’m going to put a lot of my time and energy into getting that completed.
So, to all the ladies out there that have struggled for years like I did, yo-yo dieting….I say to you…You can lose weight without starving! You can lose that weight without fad diets, diet pills or living off meal replacement shakes. You can do it with a good clean food, and good old fashioned exercise. Indulge in that chocolate or ice cream every now and then. Everything in moderation is the key. Hey, go for it, if I can do it, so can you! ……
No more excuses.” — Sammi Jo
bellatrix nutrition 