Thursday 24 September 2009

competition pictures and reflections on my progress and transition towards a new me

I started writing this post yesterday but I ran out of time had to nip off as was working a half day, it was my and Joe's anniversary, aww. Had a fab day/night, will tell you all about it later :-)

So, here's my progress this year in pictures (click on all pictures for the larger size):

In February I took some pics of me in a bikini which I thought I quite liked (the bikini that is, not the photo subject - it looked good on a hanger anyway!)



However, as the year went on I got more caught up with writing about losing weight and less about doing everything to ensure that I did! I didn't take any pictures of me in a bikini during these times as I felt so bad about myself. I wish I had though, they'd have been better (or worse, depending which way you look at it!) than the ones above!

These pictures below were taken on my actual birthday (23rd May) when we were in Dublin. I was so gutted when I saw them as I'd aimed to lose a significant amount of weight by my 30th birthday but all I'd done is gained more!



The reason for this was that although I had the right ideas, I didn't have the right practices. I was doing everything right when it came to training and I was eating healthily and well. However I was still drinking quite a bit of alcohol on week nights and my portion sizes were just way too large.

I also wasn't entering ALL my food in my online food diary with Weightloss Resources, it's the little things you eat, like the odd chocolate here, or spoonful of peanut butter there, that add up to a lot come the end of the day!

These are some of the only pictures I have of me during that time, I was so ashamed with my backwards progress that I deleted all the pics that I took and had access to! It's only because Joe's so insistent on never deleting a picture that I have the ones above!

Anyway, enough of that. Having hauled my arse into gear these past couple of months, here are some comparison pics of my face and body:







And here are some of the actual pictures I submitted in my Maximuscle Body of 2009 entry. I didn't know what sort to take so I took some pics of me in a couple of dresses as well as bikinis





I'm not 100% thrilled with the bikini ones as I was still feeling a bit puffed up from all that alcohol on Friday night, what a div eh? Because of that and the fact that I'm not very tanned you can't really see my muscle definition, particularly around my abs, but it is there, I do have visible, and a flat tummy that I'm really proud of!!

Grr, so annoyed at myself but I'm only human and still learning as I go along.

So, looking back over the last 7 months:

What I did wrong:

I don't want to dwell too long on negatives because actually I've done really well in the end. However it's important to learn from your mistakes and I made a lot of them at the beginning of the year!

I think my biggest error was in thinking that this would be easy. Even if I didn't voice it, that's what I kidded myself into thinking. It wasn't, it was bloody hard work, I couldn't carry on with my previous lifestyle like I thought I'd be able to and I had to make sacrifices when it came to food and alcohol. It wasn't until I came to realise this that I began to see real results.

Tara from Figure This has written a great post entitled 'How To Lose Weight'. She says that many people struggle to lose weight for a number of reasons, and on her list I really identify with the first three:

* lack of belief in one's ability to lose weight.
* lack of discipline.
* lack of knowledge.

Read the rest of the article if you can, it's really good. I think I identify with the first point more than anything. I didn't believe in myself enough, or in my abilities. I was approaching this in a half-hearted manner because I didn't really truly deep down believe I had what it takes to make such a huge difference to my body and my life.

It wasn't until I remembered a poem I knew as a child, which I ended up posting on here one day that I realised I wasn't going to succeed if I didn't start believing that I could. You've got to think you're a winner before you can become one!

I started to visualise my success, how I wanted myself to look, and the feelings I'd get when I saw my reflection and liked that I saw. Those feelings I have now, when I get into our mirrored lift at work, or walk past a shop window and catch sight of my reflection - I am really pleased with what I now see, I don't think "eugh" and it doesn't make me feel miserable.

It's the best feeling in the world :-)

What I've done right:

* I've not given up, even when things didn't go to plan at the start
* I've never lost sight of my goals
* I've totally overhauled my eating habits and changed my relationship with food for the better, and forever
* I've not reverted to old effective but destructive methods, not once, not ever, that's just not a part of me and who I am anymore
* I've not isolated my family during this but have included them in my healthy new lifestyle (interesting healthy meals, cycling, swimming, running, activity holidays etc)
* I've learnt so much about exercise, nutrition and general health, and have loved it so much that I'm going to continue doing so and am making it part of my current and future study goals
* I've succeeded in my goal of feeling confident enough to enter the competition

Above all things, I now AM Slimmer, Fitter, Stronger and Happier :-)

TJx

14 comments:

  1. You look fantastic!!
    You can see in the pics how much healthier you look-your skin is glowing too.
    I know how you feel about critiquing the bikini shots..it can be hard to get the camera to show what you can see in terms of definition etc but you can see a major difference and you look great. You should be proud!!!!

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  2. You are looking AMAZING! Congratulations on all your hard work. You deserve to feel so proud of yourself.

    Thanks for the inspiration today!

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  3. Crikers you look gorgeous! Amazing progress and amazing body! I'm well impressed!

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  4. I almost spit out my oatmeal when I saw the bicep shot. You are a serious ass-kicker now... !!

    I think you did some good stuff the other day talking about your struggles with purging, and how addicting (and even rewarding) it can be. I struggled with bulimia for three years, and the "though of digesting"... yeah I relate to that. The urge to purge has faded drastically over the last year, as I have seen that I can lose weight without rotting out my throat.

    You look beautiful.

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  5. You look amazing mate, really amazing and I hope you are feeling as proud as you should.

    I *REALLY* hope you get selected as a finalist

    xx

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  6. That would be "thought of digesting"... something went wrong with the "t" key...

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  7. Fabulous photos :o) I really love the strapless dress shots. Not many wimminz can carry off such a clingy dress and look so good with it!

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  8. I think you look fab and i agree with the glowing comments - congratulations on your hard work xx

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  9. Nice guns pic. Shows your delts and traps too. Good pic.

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  10. Wow!!! what an amazing transformation. Hope you win the competition, you deserve to

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  11. Thank you all so much, you have no idea how happy you make me when you say such wonderful things, I really appreciate it and it makes it all worthwhile :-)

    Thank you xx

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  12. > I also wasn't entering ALL my food in my online
    > food diary with Weightloss Resources,

    A good addition to this is a very good program I have been using, Food And Exercise Diary (WeightLossSoftware.Com). It is a food diary, medical diary, and exercise diary. Lots of functions.

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  13. Hey Tomer, thanks very much for sharing that :-)

    I've had a peep but it looks very similar to the online food diary/database/exercise tracker thing I have on weightloss resources - which has the added benefit of having a wonderful forum full of supportive people, couldn't ever pay enough for that! :-)

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  14. You look amazing in those pictures, dress and bikini shots. Ab definition is superb, well done!

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