Week four! Weekly challenge: Switch up your diet. Try one fruit and one vegetable you’ve never tried before, and learn how to cook a new healthy meal.

This is going to be tricky, I’ve tried lots of fruits and vegs, and I am a really picky eater and hate most things, will have to go to the supermarket and see what I can see. Excited about a new healthy meal though, will have to have a trawl of the internet to see what I can see. Yay.

Week three! Weekly challenge: Add an extra 30 minutes to each work out this week, or if you weren’t going to work out at all one day, work out for 30 minutes!

Okay, this is going to be hard as I don’t honestly think that I can do more than two hours a day….so, this week, as I don’t always do the two workouts at the weekend, I WILL do the workouts, oooh, and also, I still am struggling to do a full hour cardio at the gym, I strike out at 55 mins, so this will be the week that I get it up to 60 mins. 

Week Two! Weekly challenge: Get organised! Try to plan tomorrow’s meal the night before.

Done, for the whole week, and so far sticking to it pretty much. Bonus.

Day one: How tall are you, what do you currently weigh, and what do you hope to weigh after the 60 days? (Be realistic).

I am 5 foot 10, I currently weigh 256 pounds (FATTY) and in 60 days time I hope to weigh at least 236 pounds (that’s realistic right?!).

Day two: What is your MAIN reason for wanting to lose weight? (Be honest.)

I want to be more confident, and that comes with a feeling of self worth, that I don’t have because I am over weight.  I feel ugly, all the time. I feel worthless, all the time. Because I am fat.

Day three: Do you count calories? What is your daily calorie goal/allowance?

I don’t count them, but I try to be aware of them. For example, I will know roughly how many calories there are in a certain food, and how many calories I want to consume in a meal, and therefore base my portion size on that. 

Day four: Do you work out? How many times a week?

Yes! It depends on my workload, but I aim for at least 6 days a week, and I have started adding another work out into the day. This is because although the gym is hard work, I find it difficult to track how many calories I have burnt. So, I do a work out at home that burns at least 400, so I know roughly where I am with it all.

Day five: Is there any specific event you want to lose the weight for?

Not really. I just want to be a normal size. Saying this though, my friend is getting married at the end of this year and I want to turn up there at my ideal weight. There will be people there that I went to school and college with who have only ever known me as fat.

Day six: Have you ever been overweight or underweight?

I have always been overweight, well, since the latter years of Primary School. I was a normal sized young kid, then got fatter and fatter. Yuck.

Day seven: Do your friends and family know you are trying to lose weight?

My Mum knew from the very beginning, but my friends didn’t know until they realised that I had lost weight, and therefore must be doing it on purpose. Actually, I was really disappointed with some of my friends, in fact my friends who I would count as my closest friends. None of them wanted to comment on the fact that I had lost weight, and this was say, after about 50 pounds loss. Well, I presume they didn’t want to say, because they MUST have noticed. This upset me a little, as I thought, well maybe all they see me is as fat, and if I am still fat then there is no difference to be seen. It wasn’t until I saw work friends around that same time, who I hadn’t seen since I began to lose weight and saw their positive reaction to me that I started to actually feel good about myself and the weight I had lost. I have now lost over 80 pounds and my close friends, will only ever say that I look well, or I look pretty. I don’t why they wont comment on it, but it makes me feel that they have the problem with it, not me, and I just try to carry on as normal with them, with a lot of respect lost towards them.

Day eight: Name 5 things you like about your body (you can do it) and the one body part you’d like to change the most.

Urgh, this is hard! Um, my lips (although my mouth is too small), my thumbs - long and flexible, good for playing, my nails, they’re short but strong, I have big hands, which again are good for playing, what’s that three? Oops, four, one more, Oh God, um… ooh I like the mole that is on my right cheek. I would like to change all the fat to thin.

Day nine: What is your favourite food, healthy or unhealthy.

Unfortunately, and unoriginal, but, it is chocolate. Ugh.

Day ten: Do you eat breakfast? What do you usually have?

Yep, everyday, one weetabix soogy with skimmed milk, yum!

Day eleven: What are your family’s eating habits like?

Healthy, but everything is in massive portions, way too much.

Day twelve: What are your friend’s eating habits like?

Argh, this is where I get really pissed off. My friends go on about how much they eat, and especially around boys, joke about how they eat like a pig, but in reality I know that they eat hardly anything. They will eat a big meal in front of everyone to be impressive, and look how I can eat whatever I want and still maintain this tiny body, then they go away and starve themselves. It is so STUPID.

Day thirteen: Is your diet ever negatively influenced by your friends? Do they pressure/tempt you to eat unhealthy food?

My friends don’t pressurise me to eat unhealthy food, but they do make a point of highlighting anything that I get that seems “healthy”, which I find embarrassing. I shouldn’t, as there is nothing wrong with it, but they make it sound like it’s dirty, they piss me off in this aspect.

Day fourteen: Do you ever allow yourself a “rest day” from exercise or a “cheat day” from your diet?

I don’t exercise on Mondays as my work schedule is too full to fit it in, and depending on how I feel, I might only do one workout at the weekends, as in only go to the gym. Food wise, I am trying to get into the habit of having a cheat meal once a week, I love this idea as it takes the pressure off cravings and makes socialising much easier, but I get scared that I’m going to go too crazy and it tends to stress me out!

Day fifteen: What is your favourite kind of exercise?

I guess my favourite kind of exercise is team sports, I used to go to an all girls school and loved being on the teams for netball and hockey, and then when I went to a mixed school we used to play football every Sunday morning boys vs girls and that was amazing fun. I think that I also love swimming, because I used to do it a lot, and it is one thing that I am looking forward to doing when I feel comfortable enough to go out to the town pool in a costume.

Day sixteen: Have you ever missed a work out just because you couldn’t be bothered?

The answer to this has to be yes and no. I have dragged myself to the gym and done a half arse work out because I couldn’t be bothered, and I have skipped weights in my routine because I haven’t wanted to stand and wait for them.

Day seventeen: Have you ever been called fat? Or skinny?

I have NEVER been called skinny, because I have NEVER been skinny. Fat, on the other hand, well, yes, because I am. I think my family might have said it to my face, but other times is when I have walked in and heard someone saying it when they didn’t realise I would hear it, or horrid comments when I was out. 

Day eighteen: Do you have to eat any meals with your family? Are they for or against your diet?

I eat all my meals with my family, which is just my Mum. She is all for the diet and makes things as easy as possible for me, including helping out with gym fees. She’s awesome.

Day nineteen: Have you ever lied to avoid eating something?

Yeah, usually along the lines of, I’ve already eaten, I can’t eat that because it makes my stomach hurt, too nervous to eat etc. sometimes this is a bit true, but usually just an excuse not to eat.

Day twenty: Do you binge? How often and what triggers it?

Gah, yes. And I hate how it makes me feel, guilty and sick, and then if I’m lucky I get stomach pains that start in my back all night because I have literally eaten absolute shite. I have weird patterns with it, sometimes I will do it as often as twice a month, in consecutive weeks, or I wont do it for ages, I have a little treat and then go mental. The trigger is usually when I get really angry or frustrated, I think it is my way of taking it out on myself.

Day twenty-one: Do you listen to music when you work out?

Not really, I used to listen to audio books and now I listen to pod casts, but as I am at the gym they always have high paced music blaring, so I can always hear that when I work out which helps keep me in time, at a good pace.

Day twenty-two: Are you generally smaller or larger than your friends?

I am smaller than all my friends who are my age, it is only a few friends who are a couple of years (or more) older than me that are near my size or bigger.

Day twenty-three: Do you feel that your weight holds you back socially?

100%! I don’t like meeting new people because I just think that all they can think is about how fat I am, I hate talking to guys, because I just think they look at the fat and are disgusted. I am quiet because I don’t want to draw attention to myself. I am very socially awkward, and the main reason for this is my weight. I am also a little moody and shy, too, not all the fat’s fault!

Day twenty-four: Is losing weight one of your top priorities in life?

Yes, the top, at the moment.

Day twenty-five: Do you ever eat fast food?

Not anymore. I think I still could, as I am sure that it still tastes nice, I just couldn’t deal with the guilt!

Day twenty-six: Do you drink alcohol? What do you generally drink?

Yes, I drink alcohol, but I will usually try to find an excuse not to. Most if the time I have to drive to where I am going out drinking, so have that excuse. When I don’t drink it is mainly because I don’t want to waste the calories, this is a really unhealthy mindset, but I usually only feel it is worth drinking when I intend on getting drunk. Sometimes I want to relax with a friend and I’ll drink, but I am such a lightweight that I end up getting a bit drunk anyway!

Day twenty-seven: Does shark week make you hungrier than usual, and do you allow yourself to eat more at this time of the month?

It makes me crave chocolate like a bitch, as in, I don’t think I could possibly have enough chocolate in my body ever craving. Then I feel sick and gross and guilty. Also, I weigh about 5 pounds extra due to all the bloat, but it goes away at the end of the week, still sucks.

Day twenty-eight: Are there any foods or drinks that you have completely banned yourself from consuming, or do you believe in everything in moderation?

I banned myself from eating chocolate because I can’t eat it in moderation, and the I feel sick and guilty and crave it even more. I haven’t stuck to this very well though because I am shit. I have though managed to completely ban diet coke, which I was properly addicted to and would drink loads of, and now I am not even tempted one little bit!

Week five! Weekly challenge: Go and buy yourself a nice item of clothing one size too small, hang it somewhere visible. Think about how good it will feel when you can fit it!

Day twenty-nine: What is your current weight? Have you lost, gained, or maintained your weight since day one?

244 pounds. Shit! That’s 12 pounds! Thought that I had lost hardly any, Am pleased!

Day thirty: Do you have rewards for reaching goal weight? What are they?

I did, but I forget or don’t have money or need the thing before I reach the goal. Once again, I am shit.

Day thirty-one: What are your favourite healthy snacks?

Nuts.

Day thirty-two: What is your weakness/one food you just can’t say no to?

Homemade cake, someone has made it and is proud enough of it to offer it up for public consumption, how can you say no?!

Day thirty-three: Will you continue to count calories once you reach your ultimate goal weight?

Yes, probably, I don’t want to be fat anymore.

Day thirty-four: Will you continue with the same exercise routine once you reach your ultimate goal weight?

I would like to say yes, but I really don’t know. I will hopefully have a full time job and a proper life then so I wont have the time that I do now, but I would like to think that I will be disciplined enough to fit it in as much as I can.

Day thirty-five: Do you mainly do cardio, strength training, or both?

Both.

Week One! Weekly challenge: Pick one unhealthy food or habit you have (eg. Artificial sweetener, chocolate, eating after 8pm, skipping breakfast) and aim to go 7 days without eating/doing it.

An unhealthy food or habit I have, um… BREAD! I don’t eat loads of it, but when I had my nutrition talk as part of my gym intro, the trainer suggested no bread at all. So, let’s try that for a week, no bread.