Feeling Motivated!

Just thought I'd better do a blog update while I remember. I'm home today and in the process of tidying up our garden (or should I say destroying it). I'm not much of a gardener and tend to just do a massive cutback every few months. I feel a bit sorry for our plants as they don't get much loving around here. It's funny whenever we go to the nursery to buy something (which is very rare) we always ask for the plants that survive on little water, full sunlight and not much attention! The poor nursery staff kinda look at us strangely and explain all plants need water. Well that's our problem we are not very good at consistently watering, we might need to invest in an automated system, oh well its all looking ok and we still have plants so we can't be doing to bad.

So anyway feeling pretty motivated at the moment, not really sure why but I'm not complaining. Feeling quite happy with my nutrition and training at the moment and just extremely excited about my upcoming challenge. I'm so glad I've made the commitment to compete and have stopped stressing as much and am just ready to give it my best. I've had a big change in mind set due to a few reasons. But one big one is that someone close to me is going through there own personal challenge at the moment (sorry can't tell details) but it has made me realise if they can face their fears head on then mine seems easy in comparison (still terrifying though!). So I'm ready for whatever is given to me. I've got Sue working out a program for me and I hopefully I will also be getting some help from Di (need as much help as I can get). I'm still looking at trying to get down to Melbourne for the INBA comp as I think it would be good to see a show before I do one myself (or maybe not, might scare me even more. he he).

All is going well on the work front. Things should be staying the same for now which is nice. The rosters are pretty good at the moment and tending to get lots of time at home. Although things will change in the next couple of months as we will cease to be Australian Airlines and will instead be employed by Qantas. This means we all need to undergo training to work on different aircraft. So hopefully by September the change over will be complete, this will mean very different flying for me and I will also have to bid for my roster. Currently we mainly just do short Japan trips and Sydney overnights and the occasional long Manilla trip. Whereas with Qantas we don't really know where we will be flying. So far its looking like possibly Shanghai, Narita, Auckland, Hong Kong and domestic destinations around Australia. In a way I'm hoping that the change over will be delayed so I can get the competition out of the way while I have easier rosters to work with. Anyway can't stress over it now will just have to wait and see as the time gets closer. I have also spent months trying to swap my annual leave for January so I can go to my own wedding although now I not even sure if I will still have this annual leave spot. So many what ifs at the moment which is so frustrating.

Another what if! Is the whole moving thing, now its looking like we might be staying in Cairns. So I've started to get all excited about staying, although there is still a possibility we will go. Arghhhhhhh I've had to stop worrying about this too and just deal with it when the times comes (should know for sure in a couple of weeks).

Anyway enough babble for another day! Time to get cleaned up because I'm going to get my new car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm very excited!!!!!!!!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Cheers Hilds

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Mind Games!

Well another week down! It has been a busy one both physically and mentally.

Had to help Cam out with aircon cleaning on Monday and Tuesday, and boy was that fun (can you hear the sarcasm in my voice!). No it wasn't too bad we got heaps done, but sitting in the sun reading a book sounds so much better. We are both pretty busy at the moment, as Cam is trying to finish of his Customs training plus fit in his aircon work and I'm well not as busy but flying here and there and studying for my next exam and helping Cam out when ever I can. Have actually managed to swap my long Manilla trip next week so I can help out with more aircons. I think I must be crazy, I'm missing out on 2 Sydney overnights to clean aircons!

Anyway all is going well, managed to get back in to proper training again. Did my high intensity leg routine on Thursday and haven't been able to walk properly since. I actually think its the worst doms I have ever had. I had to fly home from Japan last night and really struggled walking up and down that aisle!!!!! Anyway I made it and actually got 4 hours sleep this morning, so I'm feeling pretty good (for now anyway). Want to start getting back into a bit more cardio next week as I have scaled back a bit lately and think I need to get a bit more motivated again. Eats are going pretty good, still struggle on those night flights but working on it.

So that was about it for last week, well except for my massive indecisiveness! I have been contemplating competing in the Sports Model category in one of the shows later in the year. So I really wanted to make a decision this week if I was going to give it a go or not. Every time I thought about it I got so excited but at the same moment extremely nervous and thought of every excuse under the sun as why I wouldn't be able to do it:

These are just a few -
- I'll never get into shape in time
- I get so nervous I won't be able to walk on stage
- I'm not the most co-ordinated of people
- I don't think I look like a sportsmodel
- It will be to hard with my new job
- We might be moving to Townsville
- I will have to commute to work, try and find somewhere to train, be staying at friends houses and have to avoid eating crap and alcohol.
- I change employers in September and don't even know if I can have the time of.
- We need to save for our wedding and I can't afford it.
And the list just goes on.........

But with all of those excuses I have decided what the hell I'm going to give it a shot anyway!

I've always said I regret the things I don't do, so who cares if I'm not as good as I think I should be. As long as I can honestly say at the end of it all I gave it my best shot then I'm a winner anyway! So as the saying goes "Feel the fear and do it anyway". (I'm still nervous as hell though).

I wasn't going to say anything but I find I get so much encouragement from all the other bloggers it was a great way to stop me from chickening out! So here goes........ It's only early days and will obviously have to see where I am at a lot closer to the time but I'm going to give it a go.

So that's it for another week, I've done my training for today and I'm of to enjoy the sunshine and a lovely BBQ at some friends house.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Love Hilds

New Car!

I'm feeling so much better today after a massive 13 hours, yes that's right 13 hours sleep last night. I crawled into bed at 7:30pm after only 2 hours sleep the night before. I got back from Japan on Friday morning and had to go to the bank in the morning to sort out my car loan details so I only managed to squeeze in 2 hours sleep! Not good as I struggled all day and ate way too many carbs, we even endulged in some pizza and chocolates last night (thanks Carolyn they didn't last long!). It all went down a bit too easily, although had a great HITT session this morning and about to hit the yard to start working it all off, straight back on track!

Things are slowly coming together. Bought a new car this week! Its very exciting as I have been driving a bomb for the last 7 years and most probably another bomb before that. I have never actually had a nice car as I have always had better things to do with my money. But I decided it was time to spoil myself as I earn decent money and while I can, what the hell! So I did it, Cam went to Brissie on Wednesday to check out my new (well not new but as new as I will get!) Toyota Celica. It looks so nice, not that I have seen it in real life yet but should get it in a week or so as we are getting it transported up here. I was going to getting a more practical car, maybe a Mazda 3 or something similar but I decided while I am kid free I'll get myself a toy car instead of the family wagon! So that's one thing of the list.

So now I'm just trying to stop constantly thinking about whether we are moving or not. I find it hard at time like this as I can't seem to get on with much else as I'm just hanging out to know. So anyway have decided to get motivated today and finish of the path I'm doing in the back yard and then might clean up my little old bomb as its looking a bit worse for wear!

So time to get motivated! Have a great weekend everyone.

Love Hilds

My head is spinning!!!!

Wow so much is going on at the moment. So I apologize for my lack of posting but have had way too much to think about latley.

So where do I start!

Two weeks ago Cam and myself headed down to my little sisters wedding in Adelaide. It was an awesome weekend with a beautiful little ceremony in the Adelaide Hills. The night before the wedding myself and my two sisters and Mum and Dad stayed at a B&B together. It was so much fun as it has been years since we have all spent the night together with no partners, kids or anyone else, it felt like we were kids again. We all went out to dinner then got back to the B&B and put our pj's on and had a family slide show in front of the open fire. It was fantastic and amazing to look back at all the baby pics and Mum and Dad when they were all spunky! (not that they are not spunky now, just in case they are reading!) Myself and my older sister got stuck into the redwine and vodka and ended up sitting up quite late munching on any goodies we could find stashed in the B&B! The following day was the wedding and we all had an amazing day. At the end of it all Cam & I stayed back and cleaned up while the newly married couple went of to dinner and then went to go back to our B&B until we discovered my sister had locked the keys inside. It was a close call as we really didn't want to crash the wedding couple on their wedding night but luckily the owners came down and let us in! The next day it was an early flight back to Adelaide.

The next day I had my surgery booked in for Monday afternoon. All went well and I woke up feeling rather happy (gotta love the hospital drugs!). I ended up taking the week of work and just rested at home as I wasn't quite up to flying to Japan. I must say it was really hard for me to not train all week, but I managed it and I'm sure it has helped me get back on track. The following Friday I flew down to Adelaide again, this time for the big wedding party! It was a very wet weekend in Adelaide, which everyone except us was very happy about. Anyway to keep it short the pary was awesome, heaps of great people, dancing and a few too many drinks! We got back to our hotel room about 2:30pm and it felt like only a minute before our alarm was going at 6:30am to head to the airport. I'm glad we were catching a cab as I still felt drunk from the night before! I'm so glad it was a direct flight as 3 hours later we were back in Sunny Cairns and a very relaxing day!

So on to this week! Another full on week, I've managed to get back into training and have done two trips, one to Japan and the other down to Sydney. Cam and I have had to do a lot of thinking this week and make some big decisions. Cam has decided to put in a for a position with Customs in Townsville. It would be a good opportunity for us as Cam would be put on full time, we would get our rent paid for and and it would be a nice change. So we thought what the heck lets give it a go. So hopefully we find out next week if we will be moving in a couple of weeks. I'm also in the process of getting a new car as mine is about to die. I also found out on Thursday that all of the Cairns base Australian Airlines crew will be employed full time with qantas short haul. This was great news as we all thought that they were just going to get rid of us all and we would be lucky to get redundancy packages. So I have been checking out places to live in Townsville plus deciding what to do with our house plus organising somewhere for me to stay as I would commute to work from Townsville. So its all happening for us, but all very exciting.

Haven't had a minute to think about wedding stuff, but need to get motivated and make some bookings as a few friends have already booked their flights and we don't even have anything organised!!! So in all this mayhem I'm managing to keep up with my training an nutrition and have a much more balanced approach.

Well enough rambling for one post, should never leave it this long between posting as I have way too much to say!

Hope everyone is well! Love Hilds

P.S Congratulations to all the girls who have competed latley you all look fantastic! And also to Carolyn who had her final pics taken and is a true inspiration.

Changed my mind!

As you can see I changed my mind and decided I needed to take some final pics. Even though I'm not quite where I want to be, as the last few weeks have all been a bit hard and hence I haven't been abel to put 100% into my training and nutrition. I decided I still needed to finish of what I started and this puts an end to another 12 weeks with Sue and IBO. I'm happy with the positive changes I have made over the last 3 months and now have a much more balanced outlook on my training and nutrition and am enjoying the journey all that much more. I figure I am a constant work in progress and if I can consistently make positive steps forward that is the most important thing.

Anyway Cam and I had a lot of fun taking some pics today, we decked out the gym and turned it into our own little photo studio and enjoyed a nice bottle of red while doing so. Anyway enough for tonight I've got a vodka to enjoy!!!!!

Have a great weekend! Love Hilds

Tired Tiger!!!!!

Yes I'm back and feeling a bit tired, just got in from Japan this morning and after my usual 3 hours of sleep I'm feeling pretty crappy! I always hate the day I fly back in as I always feel like crap and crave carbs really bad, but I know after a good nights sleep and I'll be all back to normal. So only a few more hours to survive and I'll be sound asleep (YAY!). Anyway on a more positive note I had a great Easter, managed to get a couple of days of with Cam. So we spent Easter veging about the house, we sanded the outdoor furniture and spa down and put some much needed stain/oil on them so they look like new now. Its funny how you put of some jobs for sooo long and then once you actually do them they don't even take that long. So after that we got all motivated and thought of another fifty things we could do to the house. After a trip to bunning (god I love that place!) we discovered maybe we can't afford to do them all just yet and we might have to do things slowly.

The last couple of weeks have been a bit hard for me and I've had to do a lot of thinking about what some of my goals are and what I am trying to achieve. I've nearly finished my 12 week program although have had to ease things back quite a bit and also decided not to do the final week depletion diet. I've been having a few health issues lately and I decided it was better not to stuff my body around especially with my surgery coming up soon. So its been a bit hard as I feel like a bit of a failure as I just haven't been able to put as much into my training and nutrition as I normally do. But on the other hand I'm quite happy with myself that I'm finally listening to my body. It also made me realise that I'm doing this all for me and that if it takes me a bit longer to achieve the things I had set out to then that's ok too! So I'm still training hard and eating well just not obsessing about the little things as much at the moment. So no photos just yet!

I'm also starting to get really excited about little sisters wedding coming up. I've only got one more Japan trip to get through and I'll get to catch up with my whole family in Adelaide. I always get so excited when I get to see them all for a couple of days, the only problem is it is always so rushed. Anyway it should be fantastic I just hope the weather is good as my outfits aren't the warmest!

So I've got a few days home now, don't have to go anywhere until Sunday. Tomorrow is a busy day, I've got cardio in the morning, that's if my legs work there still trashed from my leg workout on Sunday plus I did the stairs in the hotel yesterday (fifty flights) so can barely walk today but hopefully they will be ok tomorrow. Then after that I'm of to the tailor to pick up my top for the wedding, then to the hospital for my pre surgery appointment, then to the Solarium and finally a couple of relaxing hours at the hairdressers. Then if I can motivate myself of to the red arrow for some more stairs and my friends house for a cuppa. Its amazing with my job, I have so much free time when I'm away but it means when I'm home I always have a big list of things to do. The rest of the week I'm hoping to just hang at home and get a fair bit of study done. So that's about it from me, I'm of to veg in front of the telly haven't seen the biggest loser in a while and was a bit upset to hear Damien had left, it seems all the real losers are the only ones left!

Also nearly forgot needed to say a big WELL DONE to Carolyn she is looking amazing and is a true inspiration! Can't wait to see her final pics. And also well done to Di, your looking fantastic and sounds like you motivated heaps of bloggers over Easter to do heaps of Cardio. Not long to go now you are going to look amazing, I might even get to see you on stage!

Have a great week everyone. Cheers Hilds

Long time between posts!

Where do I start! Things seem to be hectic lately although when anyone asks it doesn't really sound like I've been doing much!

This morning I got back from Japan and the sun was up so I sat up for a while and crawled in to bed around 7:30am and here I am back up at 11am just waiting for the gym to cool down so I can get my workout done for the day. Strangely enough I actually sort of look forward to my workout this morning as it seems to keep that yucky hungover feeling from lack of sleep out of my system. Although in saying that my workout will be as motivated as I get all day and plan on chilling out and maybe even sitting in the sun for the rest of the day (I don't function too well after night flights and the day is usually a right off!).

I've had a bit of a downer of a week last week, seemed to have lost my MOJO! Just couldn't seem to get into anything, training was even an effort. It was TTOM and I was a real grumpy bum (just ask Cam he'll tell you!) although at the time of course I wouldn't admit to any of my moods being hormone related. I managed to still get in all my training done last week although every session took a hell of a lot of motivation to get me there. Nutrition was hard as I can usually eat a house when its TTOM and anything sweet is such a temptation. Normally I can resist temptation ok, but for some reason last week I was really struggling I haven't had PMS that bad for ages! So anyway pretty good all week until a bit of a massive blowout on the weekend, I haven't had one of those for a while either, but I can honestly say I kinda needed it! It actually helped get me back on track on Sunday and haven't had a problem since. I think its kinda good to have some indulgences every now and then as I've been trying to be super good for too long now and I was getting over it!

On a positive Cam took me out for dinner on Saturday night. I had requested a date as I wanted to wear a dress. I bought a new dress for my sisters wedding party and wanted to break the shoes in (any excuse to go out!). I can relate to Hilary about not wearing dresses very often, I felt very weird and actually felt like a girl for a change, I'm a real comfort dresser and love anything where I feel comfortable and a dress is hard work. Although in saying that I did feel very nice and got lots of compliments, so I might have to wear one more often. We went to this awesome place at the Casino for dinner, I had my favourite Salmon steak and it was to die for. The atmosphere, food and staff were all awesome so I'll definitely be going back.

I finally got my roster for April which I have been hanging out for as there is so much going on. As I've mentioned my little sister is getting married. She is having a small ceremony at a B&B in the Adelaide hills one weekend and then a bit party then next weekend for extended family and friends. She has organised it so that Cam and I can stay at a B&B near by for the weekend so it is going to be lovely. So I've anxiously been awaiting the roster to see what time I had off.

I've also been waiting to find out when I have been booked in for surgery. I recently found out I had to have more cells removed from my cervix (this is the second time) as I have CIN2 again. It's something that has been playing on my mind as it is so frustrating when you make such an effort to live a healthy lifestyle and then things like this come up and there is nothing you can really do to change it. It was 3 years ago I had the last lot removed and since then they have progressively been getting worse again. So ladies make sure you are having regular pap smears as I have been having them every six months for years now and it doesn't take long for changes to happen. I suppose the good thing is I'm on top of it but still very frustrating that I cannot do anything myself to fix the situation and am just relying on surgery to remove the cells. So it turns out the surgery is booked for the Monday after my sisters wedding. So in April I have heaps on, I finish my 12 weeks with IBO in the 14th, then have a Brisbane and Japan trip, back to Cairns then fly to Adelaide on the 19th for the wedding, back to Cairns on the 22nd. Surgery is booked for the 23rd, two days of then back to Japan if I'm ok then down to Adelaide again on the 28th for my sisters party (jeez I'm tired just thinking about it). The good news is I will have finished my 12 weeks before surgery as I really need to take a week of training as last time I didn't rest as much as I should have and it took ages for things to get back to normal.

And on top of all that I have been trying to organise our wedding, I have been having great difficulty finding someone to organise the ceremony where we want it without all the dancing monkeys and elephants parading around. The Thais idea of a wedding ceremony and ours are very different! But it looks as though I have found a company that can do what we want which is a great relief as I just want someone else to organise it so we can enjoy sitting on the beach, eating and drinking with friends in Thailand. So I'm very excited now!!!!!

So I suppose I've just had a lot on my mind but I think once April is over things will be a bit easier and I can enjoy just plodding along again.

Well enough rambling for one day, time to hammer my legs in the gym!!!!!

Love Hilds

Amazing what a bit of sleep can do!

I'm feeling heaps better after a good 10 hours sleep on Sunday night and then another great nights sleep last night. Its so much easier when I am home and can have a proper routine! On Sunday I felt sooooo average all day I was barely coping due to a serious lack of sleep and the more I tried to sleep the less I could. I'm sure all this flying and lack of sleep is no good for my body, its actually quite frustrating as everything else in my life is aimed towards feeling good, eating well and exercising regularly and then I have this job that contradicts all the good work I put in. Oh well I suppose we can't have it all, my job is great in many aspects as it gives me much more freedom and time off than most jobs, its a no stress job (and I've had the stressful jobs and this is way better), my job also allows me to have a pretty awesome lifestyle and a lot more travel than I would ever be able to do in a 9-5 job. So I suppose its all not that bad and it also allows me to study, not that I have done much lately. I seem to go through stages where I study hard get an exam done and then don't want to look at a book for a few weeks afterwards. Anyway I'm in no rush to finish quickly, I'm trying to enjoy the process this time and it seems to be working. Lately I've had so many ideas on areas I would like to get into in the Health and Fitness industry which is very exciting and makes everything that I'm doing now worthwhile.

So this week is of to a pretty good start, have already crossed of a few training sessions which is always a good feeling. I always try and get the hard ones out the way early. Have planned to do the Blue Arrow at lunch time today, its a 1 1/2 bush walk in Cairns. So Cam is meeting me there after he finishes work, I imagine he will be a tired tiger as he has to get up to start work at 2:45am (not a nice time!). He has already warned me that if I want to speed ahead I'm on my own (he he). So I'm looking forward to the walk, should be drenched with sweat by the end of it, considering its stinking hot today, really not that much different though from any other day in Cairns, its always hot and humid! Tomorrow I have to work and have a Brisbane return, so its a nice and early start for me, I think I need to get up at 3:30am, yuk. I should get back to Cairns about 12 and have booked in for a RPM class at 12:30. I gather its easier to do it straight away as if I go home it will be sooooo hard to motivate myself to do any training later as I'm usually pretty shattered after the early starts, they're nearly worse than the night flights. And then on Thursday I'm on to Japan again, just for something different! Might actually motivate myself to do some study this time. Anyway time to sit in the sun for a while while the weather is so good!

Hilary thanks for the lovely comment and to everyone else who has commented on my article in Women's Health and Fitness! I'm looking forward to seeing some other IBO before and after pics, I'm sure there are lots of people finishing around now!

Have a great day! Hilds

Feeling a bit flat....

(just wanted to add a pic of me and cam. It was taken at my Chrissy party)

That pretty much sums up how I have been feeling this week. I think it may be due to all the training I'm doing at the moment, my program for these last few weeks is pretty intense and hard to keep up with my work. But its only 5 short weeks to go so I'm just going to keep slogging away at it, although I'm really looking forward to cutting my cardio back a bit at the end of it all.

I flew over to Japan yesterday and felt quite average all day, all my fault mind you. I had a bit of an indulgence on Thursday night. I kept telling myself I deserved it as I have been so good so far and only had two free meals in six weeks, so I had a bit too much apple crumple cake! Oh my god it was good but did I pay for it yesterday, I had stomach cramps and heart burn all day, don't really know what thats about but all I could think of was it must have been the cake! Its amazing how your body reacts when you have been eating quite clean for a while. So anyway moving on and have made sure I have done all my cardio for the week. Had a great session this morning and did my 55minute Steady state on the tready followed by and hour incline on the treaty. It was a bit of an effort but I knew it would be easier to do today than tomorrow, as I only get home about 6am and will be lucky to get 3 hours sleep and still have one weight session to get done for the week! So anyway nearly all over for another week, still need to get my nutrition spot on, don't really know why I struggle with it so much but its always an effort.

Didn't end up getting my free PT session as the trainer cancelled on me!!!!! I thought it was supposed to be the other way around, I was really pissed off as I had gotten up really early to get my interval training out the way and make sure I had enough time for breakie and a relax before my session. Anyway won't be going there for any PT sessions. So as I was a bit disappointed I got Cam to take me through my new Chest & Bicep routine. Well, I don't know if that was a good thing, I'm still soooo sore. I managed heaps of PB as its great having someone spot you, but the bad thing is I now have to maintain, and better the weights I've started out on, bugger! I also did my interval training on the oval, it was quite different but a nice change. I felt a bit odd at first as there was some guys there flying model planes and must of thought I was a bit strange stopping and starting. Although I soon forgot they were there as I was too busy watching the stopwatch the whole time, I really noticed the difference when I jogged home along the road, it felt so hard and my legs were very heavy! I'm glad I wore my old sneakers as they got trashed from the wet oval and lawn clippings.

Oh yeah think I figured out who I saw at the gym the other day, I'm sure it was Jules from the blue team, biggest loser! I'd love to know if it is really her and when she got out and how she is going. She looked better, not super small or anything but I'm sure she's shrunk. Also what is it with some of the contestants on that show, they are given this amazing opportunity and they still can't seem to stop with the excuses, Munalita (don't know if that's how you spell it!) and the girl on the blue team who never stops crying do my head in!!!! I love the commando and how he just says it like it is anyway its great to watch as it gives us something to gossip about! Even Cam sits there and yells at the telly when it's on, quite funny to watch.

Anyway enough rambling for one post, should try and get some rest before my lovely night flight home. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Love Hilds

Where are the weeks going?

Time is flying lately, I can't believe that it is March already! All is going well with me, have been busy working and training, don't really know what else I've been doing but the days seem to be flying by. Feeling a bit shattered today. I got back late last night from Sydney as I had to go down for a couple of days training for work. I'm glad that its all over and we only have to do our emergency training every six months. As I always get really stressed out about it but its never as bad as you imagine its going to be.

Anyway couldn't seem to sleep in this morning I must have been excited about my new training program. So I got up early and got my high intensity leg session out the way, I love doing it early in the week so I know it is done for another week. After finishing that I decided I might as well get all the hard stuff out the way so I booked myself in for a lunch time RPM class, glutton for punishment today! I think I must have sweated about 2L during the RPM class and my legs felt heavy for the first track which isn't a good thing. And just to top it of I have just finished an hour incline power walk on the tready. So burnt a big 900 calories today, god I love my heart rate monitor. So I'm sure I'll be sleeping well tonight. Tomorrow I have my interval training, so now that the weather has cleared up I'm going to go down the oval and do it rather than on the treadmill, so I should be able to push myself a bit harder. It will be interesting to see the difference. I also scored a free PT session at the gym, so I'm really looking forward to that as I haven't had anyone train me for quite some time, will let you know if I can move after tomorrow.

So as you can tell I'm hitting in hard for my final six weeks aiming for some awesome after photos! I'm looking forward to the after photos as my partner is also doing a 12 week challenge with me so we took couple photos before. Its actually really motivating having your partner to do it with you as it puts the pressure on as you don't want to let the team down.

Oh yeah nearly forgot, I'm sure I saw one of the biggest loser contestants at the RPM class. I can't think of her name but she was in the blue team. I'll have to find out tomorrow if it is her coz my curiosity is killing me!!!! Anyway the biggest loser is on now and I'm hooked. Hope everyone is having a great week. Cheers Hilds

Been a while.....

Finally back home for a couple of days. I've been away for the last week on a Sydney/Manila trip so its good to be home.

Have had a good week, managed to clean up my nutrition a bit and get all my training done. Although my knee has been playing up a bit so I have had to find alternatives to running and have been mixing it up with the bike, cross trainer and stepper. I struggled a bit at the start of the week as I did my weekly check in with IBO and in 4 weeks I've had absolutely no change in the scale. I know that this is due to many things but its still a little disheartening, but anyway had to kick myself up the butt and get over it and keep moving forwards. I know I have made progress as I'm feeling heaps better, I've just gotta get over that little number on the scale.

Anyway all that aside I'm looking forward to a great week this week. I won't be away as much so it should be a bit easier. I'm working on the wedding invites tomorrow as I decided to do them myself. I've bought all this beautiful paper and designed the invite, its kinda like a holiday ticket (appropriate as its in Thailand!), so want to get them all done tomorrow so I can get them in the post, its all very exciting.

Loving being home this weekend, got home yesterday and went out on a date with Cam. We went to a comedy show which was great and had an awesome night. So its out for coffee now and then its time to get the house sorted after me destroying it yesterday with all my bags. Poor Cam has it all tidy when I get home and it only takes me five minutes to turn it upside down.

Anyway better fly got friends waiting!

Have a great weekend!

P.S Have you seen my big head in the latest Women's Health and Fitness Mag - very exciting!!!! (thanks Sue!)

Sticky Date Cake!!!!!

Yes I had some of that last night and oh my god was it rich! I had my first free meal in 4 weeks last night. Being Valentines day and all we treated ourselves to a nice massage and a lovely dinner at home. We had quite a healthy dinner (Salmon Steak, sweet potato mash and salad, my favourite!) but I treated myself to a crunchy white bread roll and butter with dinner, yummy! We even had dessert afterwards, my favourite Sticky date, although I must say I might be losing my sweet tooth! The cake was so sickly rich I thought I was going to be ill, normally I would have just wanted more sweets but not last night. I think I might actually be making some progress, normally sweets would send me into a full sweet binge but last night I was just waiting for my heart to stop jumping out of my chest so I could go to bed. I even had 2 vodkas, its funny when you haven't drank for a while as it hits you so much quicker, I'm quite the cadbury now. After two drinks I was happy to stop and go back to my water, all sounds a bit sad doesn't' it!

Anyway it was a lovely night and I got straight back into it all this morning. Hit the treadmill for my 50min steady state session. I was a bit slow starting of, I think a combination of tired legs from RPM and interval training yesterday and also all the crap I had eaten last night. Anyway after the first 15minutes I was into it and it went pretty quickly and cardio is done for the day. Have got Chest and Biceps tonight and if I have any energy after that might squeeze in a powerwalk. Anyway time to get motivated for the day.

Hope everyone had a lovely Valentines Day! Hilds

Another week down

So another week is over! Overall it was a good week, I completed all my planned training and even managed to add in another RPM class. I actually dragged my partner Cam along as he has never been to a group fitness class before. He hated me all week for booking him in but after the class he absolutley loved it and is ready to go back for more this week (he he, I've got him hooked now!) So as usual training was great, managed to increase my weights a fair bit this week, which was a nice suprise. Training never seems to be a problem other than the usual mind games before a hard training session (already dreading my leg workout tommorrow, but know I will do it anyway!).

Whereas my nutrition is always more of a struggle, I think I just love food to much! Anyway was pretty good all week slipped in 2 x skinny cappaccinnos (becoming a habbit I might have to kick) but didn't really eat of plan. Haven't had a free meal yet or any drinks but actually starting to crave a little treat now. My main problem with my eating is that my portions start to grow in size and I tend to pick in the arvos when I am craving sweets (nothing really bad maybe a bit more protein or cottage cheese but it all adds up). So this week that is going to stop and back to strict portion control (sounds nasty!). Anyway have set aside Valentines day for my free meal. We have planned a couple of massages for us both Wednesday arvo followed by a relatively healthy but free meal and maybe even a couple of glasses of wine. So knowing I have a little treat ahead should keep me motivated this week!

I had to do my weekly checkin yesterday as I was flying out to Japan. So I jumped on the scales to discover I had put on .5kg (I really really really hate scales). So I was really dissapointed with that but kept telling myself that it was only a little number and not to let it get you down. I still find it so frustrating that you can allow a number on a scale effect your mood. So following the horrrific scale incident I decided to get my partner to check my Body fat and measurements. Overall I have lost about 2cm from most places and also dropped about 4% Body fat and I am feeling much better. So as hard as it is I'm ignoring those scales this week and just getting on with it!!!!!

So on to another exciting week! Spending the day in Japan today just waiting for the gym to open as usual. Then I will hit the treadmill for a good hard cardio session followed by abs. Might spend the rest of the day doing a bit of study, time to get stuck in to this next module and then hopefully a little nana nap before the long flight home. Have got my leg workout tommorrow followed by a relaxing stint at the hairdressers. I love getting my hair done as it is one time I can just sit and do nothing for a while and not feel even a little bit bad about it. Anyway enough from me hope everyone else is having a great start to the week. Luv Hilds

WHOOO HOO!

As you can tell I am just a little bit happy!!! For the last week I have been a grumpy bum waiting for my exam results to come back, as I walked out of the exam feeling less than confident. I was so frustrated as I studied quite hard for it (and I don't like studying) and the thought of having to resit was not a pleasant option. So anyway for the last week I have been putting of starting my next module as I didn't want to get into it and have to re-study all the stuff for my last exam. So with my lack of patience I rang Fitnation just querying the resit procedures and if by any chance they had my exam results yet... she had them and said that I had blitzed it (I thought she must have had the wrong person). Anyway it turns out as it is quite a hard exam the pass mark was only 70%, not 80% like I thought, so I got 81%, not quite blitzed it but I'm extremely happy that I don't have to do it again, so yesterday I was one happy camper (i think Cam was even happier don't think he even wanted to think about the possibility of a re-sit, for his sake!)

So now its on to the next module where I have to do my gym placement, I'm really enjoying it all actually as it is what I am so interested in. Bit worried about the gym placement as I do most of my training at home. I am a member of a gym, just to do the occasional spin and pump class though so I might approach them and see if I can do it there.

Did Chest and Biceps yesterday and surprisingly I managed to up my weights on quite a few exercises which I wasn't expecting as I was a bit tired after flying all night, must be all the glutamine and driven I have been taking!!!! Nutrition has been going great, much easier this week without all those insane cravings, I even managed to avoid picking on my night flight and just drank green tea (bit of a breakthrough). The only problem was once I got home and crawled in to bed at 6am I was a bit hungry and could only sleep for a couple of hours. Oh well I'm sure I'll get the right mix one day. Have done all my training for today, got up early for my interval training, followed by some yummy oats and then off to the gym to do a spin class. I even jumped on the cross trainer for an extra 20minutes afterwards, so I'm feeling a bit shattered now!

So overall the week is going well, they're even saying the rain might stop tomorrow (another big Whoo hoooo) might actually be able to go for a walk outside, how lovely that will be.

Bye for now Hilds

Escaping the rain!!!!!!

Well I've managed to get away from the never ending rain in Cairns for a couple of days!!! I just got into Japan where it is nice and cold but no rain in sight. It has been horrible in Cairns for the last week, never ending rain. I can't even remember the last time I went for a run outside, the treadmill is definitely getting a work out! I'm even weakening to the idea of getting a dryer, we have managed without one this long and I know as soon as we get one we will use it all the time, especially Cam I can't imagine him every hanging the clothes out again!! Anyway I'll see what its like when I get home and I might have to lash out and get one.

So another week is over and overall it was ok, wouldn't say perfect but managed to get through it ok. I lost another .4kg which is always good. It still amazes me how easily the weight comes on but what an effort it takes to get it off again. I'm really enjoying all of my training though, well except this morning was kinda dreading my leg workout as my legs were still a bit sore from all my stairs the other day(Selina I just did 60 floors and it took about 35mins), but once I got started there was no stopping me. Not sure how I'll pull up tomorrow but just got to get a run in and then will take it easy! My nutrition last week was ok but slipped in two skinny cappuccinos (yes Di I weakened, but they did taste great!). Didn't have a free meal last week, so haven't eaten off plan or had any alcohol in two weeks and for some strange reason I'm not really craving it. If I do get cravings it is for something boring like more oats and cottage cheese (mmmmm could eat that for every meal!) So now that my insane hormonal cravings have disappeared I'm aiming for a cleaner nutrition week this week and possibly adding in some extra power walks (if it ever stops bloody raining, gets a bit boring on the treadmill). So that's it for now feeling a bit tired after the flight, might even sleep in since the gym doesn't open until ten. Thanks for every ones comments and dropping by my blog. Cheers Hilds

Lots of stairs today!

Well guess what I'm in Japan again, just for something different!!!! Flew over yesterday, it was a loooong day as we didn't have many passengers and as such the day just seemed to drag on. As nice as it is to have a quiet flight every now and again, it makes the day just go forever (Kelly, by the way I'm an international flight attendant, hence why I am constantly on planes!). So yesterday was a bit of a struggle as I felt extremely drained as it was that lovely time of month arriving just a bit early. Anyway managed to get my training out of the way nice and early, had to double up and did both weights and interval training before I flew out. Its always a struggle mentally when I have to do two sessions consecutively but I always find once I get started there is no stopping me.

My training has been going good this week so far on track have just got 1 weight session and 1-2 powerwalks and I'm all done for another week. Have stuggled a bit more with nutriton this week which is pretty typical for this time of the month, my appetite seriously doubles but have managed not to let it get out of control. Some of my portions most probably have been a bit over and I have been having meal 6 a couple more times this week and even treated myself to a skinny cappacinno (first coffee in two weeks!). Which isn't too bad since I'm not having a free meal this week as I don't really need one and haven't been spot on so don't really deserve one either. Haven't had a drop of alcohol either, don't really want one either, might treat myself on valentines day to 2 glasses of wine. So still aiming to get those portions spot on, sometime I just wish I had more of a routine as I'm sure it would be a lot easier. So tonight is another challenge, surviving the long boring night flight home! I always struggle on night flights as we have a few hours where we don't have much to do and its amazing how much your mind tells you that you really really need that chocolate bar at 2am and there is no shortage of chocolate around. I can normally avoid chocolate but still struggle but tonight I AM going to only have green tea after my late dinner..... Will let you know how I go (kinda keeps me accountable then!).

So today for cardio I did the hotel stairs, all 60 floors, hope those calves aren't too sore tommorrow. Just veging out now until we fly out tonight, have tried to fix my blogger template since everyone else has these amazing new ones, but obviously mine is supposed to stay the same for a little longer as I really can't figure out how to make it really individual like some of the others I have seen. Anyway back to playing on the internet, studying and drinking lots of green tea! Will check back in on Monday with my progress for week 2.

Have a great weekend. Hilds

Tired today....

Can't say I like getting up at 3:30am it really throws me out for the rest of the day. I had an early flight today and as such am struggling a bit today. Have managed to stick to nutrition plan although maybe just a little bit too much cottage cheese today. Have decided to have a rest day from exercise as I didn't have one last week. Sometimes I find it a bit of a struggle to do no exercise as it always makes me feel more alive after training, but I think my body is telling me a day off will do me better. Legs are pretty heavy and sore from yesterdays workout, so I'm hoping a rest will give me heaps more energy for my session tommorrow. Have spent the arvo studying as my exam got put off until tommorrow morning so just doing a bit of last minute revision ready for tommorrow. Also found out today that i should get time off for the wedding in January, so getting really excited about it now. It is going to be sooooo exciting having the whole family and friends over in Thailand at once! Anyway just a short one today, feeling a little flat, a good nights sleep is in order. Hilds

I HATE POP SQUATS!!!!!

Yes well that says it all! Just finished my leg workout and fifty million pop squats later and the legs are just a little wobbly. I don't really hate pop squats as I know my butt will be loving them in the long run, I just hope I'm not too sore tommorrow. Anyway it was an awesome leg workout, I actually put my Heart Rate monitor on this time as it feels more like a cardio routine and to no suprise my Heart Rate sat up around 80%. I decided to get it out the way early on as I knew if I left it until this arvo I would be dreading it all day. So training is all done and dusted for today, time to go out shopping!

Also just a quick update on week 1:

Nutrition: Great, still sturggled a bit on my night flight home but did ok. Avoided having a free meal this week, no alcohol or coffee either.

Training: All sessions completed

Weight: Lost .6kg

So overall a great week, not feeling much different yet but its only early days so I will just keep plodding along.

Thats it for today! Cheers Hilds

Waiting for the gym to open!!!!!

Hope everyone had a great Australia Day! I spent it flying over to Japan, so didn't really feel much like a holiday. But anyway here I am just waiting in my hotel room for the gym to open. It doesn't open until ten which is a bit frustrating as I like to get straight up and get my cardio out the way. Whenever I have to wait those horrible reasons why I don't want to go creep into my thoughts, although I still know regardless I'll do it anyway. The feeling of not doing my training is worse than any reason I may have come up with for not doing it. So anyway just a quiet day today, hoping to get some more study done as my exam is booked in for Monday morning. I've discovered I'm definitely not one who loves study, I love to learn although hate the formal study, but oh well has to be done! So anyway nearly at the end of week one, I've had a great week so far, managed to get all my training done and clean eats all week, haven't even had a coffee! Can't say I'm feeling just fabulous yet but I know I just have to be patient. Its funny as this time around I am trying to only have a free meal and drinks if I really need them, and it is actually much easier. As last time I spent all week thinking about the treats I was going to have at my free meal and it made you crave them all the more. Whereas now I'm not even craving a drink or chocolate as I know I can have it but don't really want it, strange I know. I'm sure there will be times when I do but I will enjoy my little treats all the more then.

Its great weather in Japan at the moment, nice and cold such a great change from hot and very humid Cairns. We have been getting a lot of rain lately and I've had the aircon on most of the time so most of my training has been done in the airconditioned gym!!!!! When I have ventured outside for a walk I end up soaked either from sweat or rain, gotta love this time of year. So only another 1 1/2 hours and the gym should be open, yah (sad isn't it!). Anyway will check in on Monday and let you know how the scales liked my first week back into it!!!!

More Pics

Lucy & Matt at the beach

Tina & Pauli

Trying to post pics!!!!!

Dillon, Luke & Me


Tina & Me







Me & my sister Lucy

Jas at her best!

Week 1 Day 2

Well its only early days but all is going well! I've clicked into the positive mindset and know that I will achieve my goals I just have to put in a bit of hard work along the way. I'm already feeling quite sore, I did my new leg routine yesterday and it was a killer!!! It felt more like an intense cardio session than the weights I am used to, If it doesn't get my butt into shape I don't know what will. Also just finished of a big bushwalk including heaps of hills/stairs which was a bit of a struggle with my sore legs, but 1 1/2 hours later and I felt great! Will be an early night tonight as I had to get up at four thirty for work this morning so will be struggling to make it until nine (its a bit sad isn't it!). Anyway eats have been great, although have been hanging out for my next meal each time. I'm trying to be more aware of my portion sizes and not letting little bits creep in here and there and all is going well so far. Had some frustrating news today, we got our holiday bid form from work and I'm number 249 so I have a very very very slim chance of getting the holidays I need for our wedding in 2008. Plus it also means if I can get them in Jan that I won't get any holidays until then which will kill me. Anyway will have to talk to the big boss and do some begging and see what happens!!!!!!! On a more positive note I have been studying hard and set my exam for my next module in my Cert 4 in fitness for next Monday, so I'll be busy studying until then...... Well enough from me tonight I better get back to whinging to my partner about how sore I am (he he he)

Fun, Fun Fun!

Oh my god what a busy busy week, but it was all worth it coz I had a ball! I went down to Hervey Bay last Saturday to visit my best friend Tina. I hadn't seen her for about a year and hadn't even met her new hubby yet, she had a bit of a quick surprise wedding last year. So it was awesome to spend the night with her and meet her hubby, who is absolutely lovely. But since we hadn't seen each other for a while the drinks started flowing and before you know it your having a few too many...... So the next day we just hung out and she showed me around Hervey before I had to fly out. She put me on one of the aircraft she flies over to Fraser Island and then down to Maroochydore. It was an awesome flight on the little 8 seater aircraft (I'm used to the 200+ seat aircrafts) got to see a bit of Fraser Island and check out the coast on the way down to Maroochydore.

When I got to Maroochy my brother inlaw was there waiting to pick me up to take me to see the rest of the family in Moloolaba. They were holidaying there up from Adelaide. So I got to spend some time with my sis Lucy and her kids Dillon, Jasmin and Luke. It was so good to see them all as I miss them so much living in Cairns. Anyway same thing happened this day, as soon as I arrived I had a drink in my hand and it just never seemed to stop!!!!!! Wow did I feel like dying the next day, I can't even remember the last time I consumed so much alcohol and I can't say I miss it!!!!!!! The next day was spent in the pool, on the beach and just lazing around (about all I could manage!). So it was an early night the next night and a quiet dinner out, no drinks of course. So after all the eating and drinking we forced ourselves to go for a run the next day but I think I am only now feeling normal again (five days later)!!!! I got back to Cairns on Tuesday feeling a bit worse for wear only to have to pack the bags again to go to Japan, and finally I am home for a few very healthy, active but relaxing days at home, yippeeee!

All in all it was worth it as I had an amazing time and got to spend time with some of my most precious people in my life. So now the fun is out of the way, I'm really really really excited to be starting a new program with Sue from IBO, Michelle will be my feedback coach and I start on Monday. Did I say how excited I am! Its funny when you finally find a lifestyle you love when you go back to old ways for a while it only reinforces why you live the way you live now. I can't even imagine going back to the days of drinking every weekend and half hearted exercise attempts. I'm trying not to beat myself up about my excessive eating and drinking while away and just got straight back on track as soon as I was home. My new program starting on Tuesday should be great, I love it when I have a program to follow as it makes me so much more disciplined just the fact that someone else has written it for me and I will be accountable to someone else.

So here goes another 12 weeks, I am hoping for even better results this time as I know what is possible! One last bit of exciting news is that my little sister Sarah is getting married in April. She just told the family last weekend after getting back from her holiday in New Zealand and getting engaged. They were all a bit surprised and excited that is was so soon, although I have known for a few months now and it has been killing me keeping the secret, so its a nice relief for me. So I will be all finished my 12 weeks by her wedding and will be able to buy myself a nice new outfit (any excuse for shopping). So I'll be down to Adelaide in April for the wedding and possibly the following weekend for their big party to celebrate the wedding, here goes the savings plan already, oh well your little sister doesn't get married every day!!!

Will check back in soon with reports on how the new challenge it going.

Cheers Hilds
P.S will post some pics of my little mini holiday!

Frustrated....

Well its been a few days now and I'm still feeling very average. I haven't trained since Monday and have been resting up and doing all the right things and am still not back to normal. It is soooo frustrating I'm not very good at being patient and am really hanging out to do some training again, its funny when you can't train its all you want to do, and when you have to train you try and do everything possible to put it off. I got back from Sydney today and had a nanna nap this arvo and just going out to dinner for mexican tonight and hopefully an early one. I'm praying i'll wake up feeling fabulous tommorrow as I am going down to Hervey Bay to visit my best friend. I've been looking forward to this weekend for ages and feeling very annoyed that i'm not 100%, so anyway spending the night in Hervey and then down to Maroochydore for another 2 nights to see my sister and her family who are on holidays. Then back up to Cairns on Tuesday only to fly out to Japan on Wednesday, back on Friday for a very relaxing weekend at home with my lovely man Cam! I'm feeling tired thinking about it, but it should all be worth it. Anyway will be back next week with my weekend fun update!

Back home!

Well I'm finally back home after my 6 day trip and wow I love coming home. Had a great week last week, managed to get back into things full swing. Fitted in all my training while I was a way plus a lot of extra running (I'm a bit hooked on my heart rate monitor at the moment), don't think I've ever run that much before. My heart rate monitor continuously beeps at me until I am in the zone, so it kinda motivates you to get in the zone pretty quickly and stay there so you don't annoy the other people at the gym, not that I can normally hear it as I have my music on quite loud!!! Also managed to fit in all my weight training sessions as there was an awesome gym at the hotel in Manila, so no excuses for skipping any sessions. Manila was interesting, didn't really see too much as we were only there for two days, so mainly enjoyed the hotel pool and gym as I didn't really feel too safe walking around by myself. The hotel was great though and they had this amazing buffet, seriously the biggest one I have ever seen in my life. So of course we all had to go check out the buffet and I made that my free meal, I was actually extremely well behaved and walked away not feeling overly full (major accomplishment for me!), the food at the buffet was sensational and they had everything you could imagine. The desert buffet alone was bigger than any buffet I have seen in oz! So now that I have tried it don't think I'll be going back, the temptation is a little bit too big. So anyway overall last week was a good one and managed to loose .9kg with buffet and all!

This week has got of to a very frustrating start, I arrived back in Cairns yesterday and went straight to the red arrow (a small bushwalk with heaps of steps), I did three laps which took me about 40minutes. It was a great effort considering it was sooo hot and humid and I walked away drenched. Yesterday arvo I had planned on doing weights although started to feel a bit average and feel like I've got a cold. So no training yesterday arvo and nothing today in the hope that I will get some energy back for tomorrow and be able to get back into it full swing. It is so frustrating when you want to train hard but your body just doesn't seem to agree. I have learnt though that it is much better to have a days rest and get better than to half heartily exercise and feel worse at the end of it all. So here's hoping that I wake up tomorrow feeling fabulous all set for a big run!

Some other very exciting news for me is that I am a NEW YOU finalist with IBO, I was so excited to find out because there are so many awesome transformations it is pretty cool to be a finalist. Well anyway that's it for now, hopefully will be reporting back soon in full health. Cheers Hilds

Back into it today! Managed to get a run, spin and Body Pump class done and wow am I feeling tired now. For Chrissy I got a polar heart rate monitor and its funny but I'm actually loving all my cardio now (well maybe not the spin class this morning it was very hard!) I get a buzz out of checking where my heart rate is at and how all of my different cardio sessions match up with what I thought I was doing. I also downloaded some songs onto my ipod last night and made a great running playlist, I don't even think I could go for a run without it now. I also got some new asics in the Boxing Day sales and they are just the best. I love asics as they just fit perfect straight away. So I'm all set with my fancy gadgets and training clothes so I have no excuses now.

My nutrition has been going well, struggling a bit must be sugar withdrawals after all the sweet treats I've been eating over Chrissy! Anyway just been getting organised as I head of tomorrow have a 6 day trip to Sydney & Manila. I've been so used to my 3 day trips that it was a bit of an effort trying to organise all my healthy food to take and what training I can fit in. All sorted now and finally managed to sit down and veg out for a bit, I've got to get up about 4am so hopefully I can get to sleep early. Otherwise I'll be having a nanna nap tomorrow. Oh nearly forgot I got to buy some new sports tops today, I was feeling a bit daggy at the gym so I'm all set now. Well anyway that's it from me I'll check back in after my trip and will tell you how good I have been (he he trying this positive thinking thing!)

Happy New Year!!!!

Well another year over and another exciting year ahead. Last year was a fantastic year and I managed to achieve many of my goals. I successfully finished my 12 Week Challenge, went over to Austria and Germany which I have wanted to do for many years, started my Personal Training certificate, turned thirty and had a lot of fun doing so! and also managed to get engaged to the best man ever! So overall 2006 was an excellent year for me. I know that 2007 will be just as good and I always get really excited about starting a new year.

So I have kick started the New Year in a healthy way for a change. I had a quiet night at home last night, just enjoyed a bottle of bubbly in the spa with Cam. I think it is the first year ever I haven't woken up feeling hungover and definitely the first year I have ever got up on New Years day and gone for a run and I must say I quite like the feeling! So I am of to a good start, after a slack couple of months and an indulgent Chrissy I am ready to get back into it all. I have set all my goals for 2007 and excited about achieving them all. Right up the top of the list is another 12 week challenge, I've enlisted Sue's help again and will be starting my next challenge on the 22nd of Jan. So I will be blogging a lot more and touching base with others to help keep me on track. I've set my goals a bit higher this time as I know I can achieve it after successfully completing my last one. I think it is a bit daunting though knowing what it takes although exciting at the same time. So anyway that's my New Years news. Will be back soon! Happy New Years everyone.

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to everyone in Blog Land!

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, just taking a bit of a break from blogging. I am planning to start a new challenge to kick start 2007! So until then I will be away (still checking everyone elses blogs though!) but will be back in full force late January!

Happy New Year, Love Hilds

On a roll!

I'm having a great week. I seem to have all this energy this week and have managed to get in heaps of training and actually enjoying it all (well nearly all of it!). I'm also finding my eating is a breeze this week, I just wish every week was like this. I don't really know why I'm feeling like this, maybe after being sick last week it just feels great to be healthy again. Have managed to get in two spin classes, a pump class, a couple of runs and have been up the hill powerwalking every afternoon, oh and weights twice! I seem to have my motivation back and I'm loving it.

Work is frustrating me at the moment as I'm on reserve this month, which means I cannot plan anything. I was suppose to go to the Gold Coast this weekend for an engagement party but it has turned out I'm on reserve all weekend so tied to the house. Oh well Cam will get to enjoy the five star resort all on his own! So since I can't go this weekend we have planned a night at Sea Temple Port Douglas on Monday night. This is to celebrate our 4 year anniversary plus Cam got a new job, so we will be cracking the bottle of Moet which has been sitting in the fridge for a while now! So I'm going to be a good girl all weekend so I can enjoy the pool, spa and moet on Monday night ( I can't wait!). Cheers Hilds

Been Busy!

Sorry its been a while, have been a bit flat out! Had heaps of trips in a row so I could enjoy a few days off when our visitors arrived. I had my 14 year old nephew and also Cam's sister and her friend up for the last week. So as you do I have been out and about doing all the touristy things. Its good to have visitors every now and then as it makes you get out and enjoy all the local things you should do more often. We all went out to Green Island snorkeling for the day, which was great, although a bit too much sun for everyone. Another day was spent at the Bungy site (I didn't brave a jump although walked to the top and watched Alice jump off!) I think I might actually do one soon, never had the inclination before although it was very exciting up the top. Also took my nephew to the mountain bike track, which he rode around and I jogged, thought I was a little lost for a while but managed to find my way out! So along with a few more outings and a quick trip to Brissie for me it was a pretty busy week. Topped of by a big night out on the town for my good friends 30th Birthday. So Saturday was spent feeling very sorry for myself, yes I was extremely hungover! Followed by a trip to Japan on Sunday when I still felt extremely tired and very run down, and now to top it all off I managed to get a cold (always happens when I don't look after myself!). So have had to take a few days off training which is killing me but unfortunately the only way I will get over this cold. Tomorrow I am going to go for a powerwalk and start to ease back into my training. Its sooo frustrating as my training has been going really well. Have actually joined a gym and started going to spin and body pump each week. Still struggling a fair bit to get my nutrition spot on, seem to be great one week and then constantly struggling the next. I just keep plodding along trying to do the best I can, it is definitely much easier with no visitors to look after. So the goal is at the moment to just take each day as it comes and focus on clean eating and keep the training interesting! Definitely feeling much better than when I first got back from holidays, so will keep up the hard work and continue to get inspiration from all the other bloggers out there. Will update again soon. Luv Hilds

Week 3 down!

Another week down. Spent the most of last week in Bali, I managed to get some time in the sun and stock up on all my Bali goodies. We will stop flying there soon so had to make the most of my time there. Managed to have a great week of training and nutrition although was a bit disappointed with my weigh in and measurements Monday morning. I shouldn't have really checked my weight as I had missed a nights sleep flying home from Bali plus I had my free meal Sunday night so felt pretty average on Monday morning only to have to get ready to fly to Japan. In three weeks my weight really hasn't moved much although I know that changes are happening and I just have to be patient, but it is so hard when you put in so much effort and all you want to see is a bit of a drop in the scale! Anyway I flew over to Osaka yesterday and struggled all day, I was sooooo tired and struggled to make it through the day. It wasn't my best nutrition day but I managed not to let it get out of control. I managed to do some stair climbing today and went for a long powerwalk, so feeling human again. Have got a pretty busy week ahead, I fly home tonight have Thursday of and then of to Tokyo on Friday, back on Sunday and then my nephew arrives. He is 14 and hasn't been up to visit Cairns before, so I will be taking him diving out on the reef plus some other fun stuff so it should be a great week.

Anyway enough from me, should get some rest before flying throughout the night.
Have fun! Hilds

Week 2 down!

Well week two is over and it was a bit of a challenging one. I started back at work and flew to Tokyo last Thursday. I forgot how tired I get after night flights and how hard it is to control those sugar cravings. So the week got of to a good start although after getting home at 6am on Saturday morning and only having a couple hours sleep I felt very tired for the rest of the weekend! Still managed to get all of my training in although struggled with those sugar cravings and just felt hungry all weekend! Anyway didn't do too badly although it was reflected in my weekly weigh in (no change!!!!!). Well I can only hope for a better week this week, I'm trying to stay motivated and get my nutrition spot on this week! I'm off to Bali on Wednesday and get home on Sunday so have planned all my training and nutrition to fit in. Other than work all is going well, got back into my Cert 4 in Fitness study today and slowly getting through it. The weather is pretty average up here at the moment pouring with rain now, its seems like the wet season might be coming early (so glad I've got my treadmill). Bye for now Hilds

It hurts to walk!

I'm still recovering from my leg session on Sunday. I think I must have overdone it just a little bit as I have been struggling to walk, sit (any movement really!). I've still managed to keep up my training although my usual Hill walk has been a lot harder than usual, actually managed a 5km run this arvo, it felt a bit strange at first but managed to get through it. I'm on to my second week now, managed to lose half a kilo last week, although was expecting a bit more considering what a great effort I put in with both training and nutrition (its hard work trying to get rid of all those studels and beers I had during my holidays!). I have to just keep telling myself to keep plodding along and the results with come! So anyway have been busy around the house the last couple of days. We managed to paint the last room in the house that had the original yellow walls and blue doors, its fantastic to see it finally go. I also got stuck into the garden today and well pretty much destroyed it, we have a few shrubs that just grow uncontrollable so I decided it was time to get rid of them. The garden is looking quite bare now and lots of rubbish to take to the dump tomorrow. So only one more day before I head back to work, its been great having five weeks off, I don't quite now how I'm going to cope working again!!!!! Anyway enough from me. Luv Hilds

Back on Track

Well its nearly the end of week one and so far so good. Although oh my god have I been sore this week. I started the week with Chest and Back weights and I'm only just getting over it!!!! I do love feeling sore though, it makes all the effort feel worth it. I'm currently following a nutrition plan with Sue, all is going well so far and it definitely helps me a lot being accountable to someone. I haven't deviated from my plan all week and am just deciding if I need a free meal this week. I think its going to take me a good few weeks before I feel back to normal its amazing how much blubber can creep back on after a few weeks holiday, oh well it has been great and I've enjoyed every minute of holidays. So anyway time for me to get motivated I've decided to paint the office and am going to get stuck into it. Chat soon Hilds

Last few days before I hit it hard! Have returned from camping which was lovely although didn't get up to as much as we had planned. It was quite funny actually, I realised I had left my hiking shoes behind when we were setting up camp, after a few minutes of Cam paying me out we realised he left his behind too, plus the map and water bottles. So obviously we weren't meant to go hiking! So instead I got to read Fitness mags sitting in the sun next to the river, couldn't have asked for a better day. So tomorrow we head of to Adelaide to catch up with all the family, which I am very excited about! We get back on Sunday and I will be getting right back into hard training and strict nutrition. I have already got my motivational folder ready with my nutrition and training plans. I must say though that I have had a much needed break over my holidays and have managed to re motivate myself and am excited about getting toned, fit and healthy for the new year. I hope everyone else is going well with their health and fitness journeys!

Have fun, love Hilds

Finally feeling back to normal! It has taken me a while since getting back from Austria to get my energy levels up again, but I think they're back. Have been loving my holidays though, have been catching up with friends for coffee and lots of lunches and also managed to fit in a workout each day. Haven't been doing my usual intensity but easing back into things and trying to enjoy a bit more of a relaxed routine before I hit it hard after next week. We are of camping today, its awesome weather so I'm really looking forward to it, we are planning on going of a 6 hour hike tomorrow so that's my workout covered! We are also heading of to Adelaide to visit all of the family on Thursday. Cam's and my family are all getting together for a big BBQ to celebrate our engagement so I am really looking forward to that. Anyway just a quick one today as I need to get the car packed so we can get going.

Hope everyone is going well!

Love Hilds

Just trying to add some images!

Jet Lagged!

We have finally made it home after what seemed like the longest flight ever! We got home yesterday after leaving Austria on Friday morning, it was soooo good to get home after sitting on aircraft and in airports for the last couple of days! Although it was all worth it as we had the most amazing holiday. It was everything I had hoped for plus more. We started in Germany where we visited a beautiful old town called Rothenburg, from there we headed to Munich for a bit of beer and pretzels (yes Selina I tried a pretzel and a few too many German Beers!). We were at the Oktoberfest for opening day, which was crazy to say the least. We managed to find an awesome outdoor tent to spend the day in and I managed to consume 3L of beer, I thought that was an exceptional effort considering I don't really drink much beer anymore. It was helped by consuming greasy chicken and pretzels which normally wouldn't be a good thing but it made me cope with all the alcohol better,next day we spent exploring Munich and went out to Dachau the concentration camp which was quite sad and a real eye opener. From Munich we headed to Austria, first stop was insbrook which is a beautiful town, I imagine it is even more spectacular in the ski season. Then we headed to Salzburg where we picked up our hire car. Cam was the dedicated driver as I wasn't quite brave enough to face the autobahn driving a manual on the wrong side of the road. Cam did an awesome effort and stopped looking terrified after about an hour of so. We got to explore the Salzgamergut region which is spectacular and I also got to find the little village that my Dad is from so it was a very special trip. After a few days exploring we flew to London and got to catch up with some friends for some more beers before flying out. So as you can imagine I am feeling a little bit tired and a bit larger than when I left, but in saying that it was all worth it. So anyway today was the day to stop eating strudel and drinking beer and I am back on track! I started of with a power walk up my favourite hill this morning and will hit the weights tomorrow. So anyway that's my little bit of excitement, will try and attach some pics. (sorry about the spelling and grammer can't seem to insert text!)

Have fun! Luv Hilds

Nearly Holiday time!!!!

Only one week to go and I'll be heading over to Germany! I can't wait it is going to be so exciting I will finally get to see Austria and see where all the relies come from. So today and tomorrow are my last days at home before we fly out so I am madly trying to get organised, its funny how you always seem to leave everything until the last minute. I'm just hoping that we can get on the flights as everything is very busy at the moment and we are on standby. The goal is to be in Munich for the opening of the Oktoberfest. Not sure how I'm going to handle all of those sausages and beer (I'll be doing some hard core training when I get back!). I'm taking my hiking shoes so hopefully we will do lots of exploring while we are away and help work of some of those extra calories I will be consuming!!!!!! Other than holiday organising I have been pretty busy, we have had visitors for the last couple of weeks and I have also been going on lots of trips to Japan!!!! Only one more Japan trip to go and then 5 glorious weeks off, we are actually only going to be away for about 12 nights now, so I am looking forward to lots of walks, relaxing on the beach and catching up with friends during the rest of my holidays. We might even head to Adelaide for a few days as the families all want to catch up and celebrate our engagement. So that's it from me, hopefully next time I post it will be with lots of pics from our travels (as long as we get there that is!).

Hope everyone is well.

Luv Hilds

Oh my god what a week, I'm still recovering and its wednesday!!!!! After having the most amazing Birthday we had a party on the weekend for my Birthday (and also to celebrate getting engaged). The party was a costume party "Dirty Thirties". It was heaps of fun and everyone got right into the theme and there were quite a few funny sights at the party! I had a fabulous night until I drank way too many shots (not a good idea when you don't drink much anymore!). So I ended up going to bed way too early and way too drunk and it has taken me a good few days to get over it. I so don't miss the hungover feeling and wasting a whole day feeling seedy, but oh well it needed to be done. So anyway will try and post a couple of pics of the party. Hopefully my next update will be reporting all my good eating and training!

Wow what a day I had yesterday! It was my 30th Birthday and I also got engaged! It was the most amazing day ever. As you know I had been looking forward to my 30th for a long time now. Well it finally happened yesterday and I couldn't have had a more perfect birthday. Cam and I went down to the beach in the morning to have a coffee and open my pressies. At the end of opening all my pressies I got a small little box from Cam which was the most perfect engagement ring! So anyway the rest of the day is a bit of a blur, it all seemed to go so fast. We had a beautiful lunch with friends and went out to a show that night and spent the rest of the day chatting to friends and family on the phone with a few drinks in between. I've still got sore cheeks from smiling so much (in between crying, good crying of course!). Well anyway just a quick update as I have heaps to do today, none of which I want to do as I'm still too excited! But we have an exam tomorrow morning and need to do some serious study plus get organized for my Birthday Party on the weekend, which will now be a bit of an engagement party too, I cant wait!

Will try and post some pics, might not work coz some were taken on my phone anyway will give it a try!

Feeling a bit run down!!!

Not feeling too flash at the moment. It's amazing how it all catches up with you. I've been so flat out the last couple of months, trying to fit in all my own training, training friends, adjusting to changes at work, studying and still trying to fit in a social life that I have ended up with a cold!!!! I absolutely hate being sick, as I get soooo bored just relaxing waiting to get better (I'm not very good at doing nothing!). So today I had to call in sick for my Japan trip as I just couldn't imagine being on the aircraft all day as I only got back from Japan yesterday and I pretty much felt like death the whole trip so I didn't think another one would do me any good! So here I am just hanging about home hoping I will feel better very soon. I'm hanging to get back into my training as I've had two days of now and I'm actually looking forward to my next weights session (sick isn't it!). It's only two weeks until my birthday which I'm so looking forward to, I'm having a Dirty Thirties party which should be heaps of fun!!! Also trying to plan our trip to Europe at the moment which is only a few weeks away. We are going to start of in Munich with the Oktoberfest, I might need to practice my beer drinking skills as it has been a while, I can't quite imagine drinking a whole litre of beer in one go (but I'll give it my best shot). After Munich we are heading to Austria, this is what I have been hanging out to do as this is where my Dad is from, so we will spend a few days there and hopefully catch up with some rellies. From Austria its through Switzerland and on to Paris! I can't wait!!!!!!! So after eating and drinking my way around Europe I might be in contact with Sue for another program!!!! Anyway hope everyone is going well.

Luv Hilds