Weight loss and Tough Mudder training update.

February 2013

I know you guys come here for beauty tips and tricks, but I also know that some of you are on the same journey as I am, in terms of struggling with excess weight, obesity, and the health concerns that arise from the condition.
I want to dig a little deeper and share a bit more with you guys today, and maybe I'll update you about once a month with my progress, so that you can share this awesome journey with me.
Those of you who follow me on Instagram (@katylylak) will have seen the almost daily posts about it, and I'm trying to record it as best I can, because I feel like it's important and helps me stay motivated to see where I've been as well as where I'm going.

March 2013

I started out when I signed up for Tough Mudder a month ago at approximately 115kg. I'm 5'6" tall, I'm quite broadly built, and I'm obese. I've been obese for 12 years. When I met my ex-husband in 2001, I was a size 14, and I very quickly gained and ballooned out to a 16-18. Then I had babies. I started my first pregnancy in a size 18 at 110kg, gained 9kg, lost it, didn't lose any extra, then gained a couple more. Six years later, in a size 20, at 112kg, I had a second baby, gained 11kg, lost it all plus 5kg more.
I went through a marriage breakup, had some ups and downs, fair amounts of stress, and always made myself feel better with food.
Over the course of 2 years, I yo-yo'd between 107 and 115kg.

Over the years, I've tried and tried to lose weight. Something always happens to make me fail, I'll feel stressed and start the eating cycle again, I'll get so unbearable after a few days of sugar withdrawal that people encourage me to eat again, my moods, my motivation, all are linked and have seen me fail over and over in the past.

I don't know what's different this time. I suppose, because I'm at a good place in my life, I'm in a loving, happy (but long distance, which is stressful) relationship with a man who supports me 100%, I have a goal that I've laid my pride and my hard-come-by cash down for (the entry fee for Tough Mudder when I signed up was $150), I've got a really, really great team to work with, all really supportive and working towards the same goal. I'm just more motivated, and my willpower is stronger than my urge to do the things that have me falling back into the same habits again. I have this blog, my instagram, and a weight loss and fitness group on another website, all keeping me accountable for my progress.

So far, a month in, I'm seeing the following side effects, good and bad.

I'm sleeping better - I was a really bad insomniac for years. Now with regular exercise and healthier eating habits, I'm sleeping easily and for longer periods of time. a good 8 hour night is the norm for me now.

I'm very tired - My body is going through a lot of changes, which include increased output (exercise) and decreased fuel supplies. For now, that makes me very tired. Dealing with 2 kids in the evening is sometimes quite difficult when I'm running on empty, but as the days go by, it's getting slowly easier.

I'm eating less and feeling fuller - I'm at the point now where a sandwich full of spinach and lettuce and chicken and avocado is almost too much for lunch. I'm having to space my eating out better during the day and eat smaller amounts more often because my stomach is shrinking and can only accommodate small meals.

I spent a month hungry - Getting to that point has been a huge challenge. I was so hungry all the time in the beginning. My sugar withdrawals were extreme, my moods were horrendous, and I just wasn't very pleasant to be around at all.

I'm getting fitter -  A decent 5km walk isn't a hardship now, in fact, I regularly walk 3-5km at a time, and feel fine afterwards. My fitness level is improving so fast, I really though it would take a lot longer before I could jog even a couple of hundred metres, let alone do sprint exercises with my brother and climb up and down over piles of mulch. My strength is improving, too. It will get easier as I drop weight. Much easier to lift 70kg than 115!

I've struggled really badly at points with my fitness, sometimes pushing my body too far - Sometimes, it's really hard. It's still really hard. The intense workouts and training sessions that we do once per week are designed to really challenge our bodies. I just keep repeating to myself "without challenge, there is no change".

I just generally feel better - I breathe easier, my joints don't hurt as much, I'm more motivated in other facets of my life. It's a really good feeling.

I look better - Of course! I don't care what all of those "proud fat girls" say. On a prehistoric, biologically-driven level, we, as animals, are more attracted to healthier-looking specimens. It's just that simple. Healthy = Attractive. I don't need to be thin. I actually want to keep my curviness. I just want to be healthy, and healthy-looking.

People have asked me recently "Hey Katy, you look different already! How are you doing it/what's your secret?"

It's not a secret. I posted on my facebook timeline this morning exactly what my plan is. To get down to a healthy size, with increased fitness and strength, and without resorting to surgery, there is only ONE effective way to do this. Eat healthy and exercise. Break your bad habits. Change your entire lifestyle. You HAVE to change your life before your body will change to fit it. MAKE the time to exercise. If I can find the time without special gyms or equipment, without anyone sponsoring me, without anything other than the 2 legs I was born with and my fat ass waddling down the road, on my own with 2 small kids, YOU CAN DO IT TOO! For a really long time I thought I was failing because I didn't have time to exercise, or I couldn't go out to walk with the kids, or that nobody would help me. That was my biggest mistake. You don't need anyone to help you. You just do it all by yourself, and it happens. It really does,

Ok... off my soap box now.

Just a little one, on the first day I had the app.

Two apps I've found invaluable have been sports tracker (for timing and measuring my sessions. It uses GPS to track your movements and gives you a detailed description of your workout when you're done), and My Fitness Pal, which keeps track of what you're eating, and how that ties in with what you need to be putting into your body. It even tracks you vitamin and mineral intake and lets you know if you're low. It even has a barcode scanner and over 2,000,000 different foods and drinks in its database. I generally just scan everything as I put it into a meal, or manually enter things that don't have packaging. It knows all of the nutrient values.

So that's about it for now. Hopefully I haven't bored you too much. I'll be back in April with another update, and hopefiully some very different-looking pictures.