Awesomefication - building strength takes guts!

So I check in with my nutrition coach Simon every week. I weigh and measure myself, take outputs from my fitness pal to send onto him, and let him know what is and isn't going well. He keeps a eye on how my nutrition is moving along and will advise on any adjustments he thinks I need to make, as well as answer any of my questions. As the weeks are moving along I can see that this routine is as much for my benefit as it is his. It gives me a window to ponder, recognise and record my progress. On average I lose around a pound to a pound and a half a week. Some folks might think that's not much, however, that pound and a half signifies so much more than just the weight on the scale. Anyone who has done a diet or slimming club where a weekly weigh in is involved will know that they generally measure your progress on the scale alone. In my experience I would lose a few pounds one week, zero the next, put on, lose a few... you get the idea. No consistency, up and down like a yo-yo....

My legs are aching and wobbly, my arms are rebelling each time I lift them. But I am revelling in the comforting ache knowing that I am sore because I worked hard at training last night . I've missed that feeling. 5 years ago I had a great breakthrough in my weight loss and fitness regime. I was moseying along nicely, loving life. I had shifted over 4 stones in weight, I had a new job, I was loving my new found passion for exercise and good food. Everything was going great! Better than great, life was awesome! Then...KABLAM!  Life totally sucker-punched me in the guts. I fell pregnant and unfortunately it resulted in a miscarriage. Needless to say I was distraught and felt completely lost for a long time afterwards. When it happened I was the healthiest and fittest I had ever been. The pregnancy was a surprise, and at the time I felt like it was the most amazing gift that my husband and I had ever been given. When I miscarried I felt like my body had just let me down. I bla...

So I had my final Fight Camp session yesterday morning.... boooo :(  6 weeks of early 5am rises, 24 hours worth of crazy training sessions, 10 million buckets of sweat, 20 bags of spinach, i've lost count of the amount of chickens, and a vat of  protein shakes later and I feel fit and fabulous! Every session was relentless and the setup continually evolved.  Even in the last session, the trainers were chucking new combinations and exercises at us (which included some jump kicks and jump knees which were much fun), continually pushing us until the very end.  The finisher was an absolute killer which involved a pack of cards (a very dodgy pack of cards which seemed to have way too many 10s in it) and a torturous amount of burpees, squat jumps and ab exercises.  My ab's are flinching just thinking about it! I've got mixed feelings with regard to the end of the camp.  I'm sad it is over.  As much as I was starting to struggle with the ea...

Back In September 2010 I received an email from one of the Sports Lecturers in the college I work for, asking if I would be interested in being a 'real life client' to an HND Fitness, Health and Exercise student. Feeling it was time to make a change I offered my services, convincing myself that I was 'doing my bit' in helping out a student and also secretly hoping that I would be able to make a dent in my ever increasing weight problem. I had my reservations and on more than one occasion I thought about pulling out.   Little did I know at the time that by saying yes, it would be the one of the best decisions I ever made. Weighty Matters ... On returning to work from my holiday to celebrate my anniversary, I found an email lurking in my inbox from my assigned student. A really nice guy called Will. We arranged to meet up and talk about what I wanted to get out of our working together. I knew what I wanted. I wanted what every woman wants, I wanted the holy grail, t...