Happiness inspires Happiness: Getting my mojo back through exercise and healthy eating

I have often said that being a mother is literally the hardest job in the entire world, and though it is also the most rewarding one, it often strips us mums of our identity and our mojo for life.

The hardest thing is often to admit this and to find the time and the energy to rectify the situation. At the start of 2011 I decided that enough was enough and to be a better Mum, a better wife, a better friend and a better person I had to be a bit selfish and take the time to focus on myself and get my mojo back.


The main area's I wanted to focus on were weight loss and increased fitness. Initially I joined weight watchers as I had had success with that program previously. I really think this is only effective though if you attend the meetings - have to stand in front of someone every week and be accountable not just to yourself is the key. Another thing that I did which I know is often available, is I became a MTM or Meeting Team Member, this means I was the person weighing everyone in, and it also meant that I got my membership for free, so this was a great way to stay on track and save some money (and earn a little bit too).

I also heard about the 12 Week Body Transformation through some friends and thought it sounded like a great program (with Michelle Bridges at the helm, how could you go wrong?), and this really kicked in the exercise component for me. While on my journey I tried lots of different forms of exercise, because for me it needs to be something that I enjoy otherwise it becomes a chore and then I usually loose motivation to continue. For me I love Zumba and I love group fitness classes at the gym and now that I have learnt to run I also love running. I also have a very love/hate relationship with Bikram Yoga!
But by having the variety of fitness it has kept everything interesting for me.

By changing my eating and learning to love keeping fit I have turned my life around and now I do feel like I am a more effective Mum/Wife/Friend and person and my mojo for life is back. I am confident, I am happier, I enjoy dressing up again now and going clothes shopping, I have more energy for my kids and have a much happier social life.

But one of the most satisfying benefits from taking this journey for myself is that I have inspired others to also make this a priority in their lives. People that I didn't even know where watching have randomly told me that they are changing their lives because they have seen what I have done in mine. This to me is the biggest compliment and has really made my journey worthwhile.

This post was sponsored by Kids Business as part of their Happiness Inspires Happiness series. 

Settled

(some very cheap artwork... thanks Bunnings)

Time really does just keep a tickin, doesn't it? We have moved interstate since my last post. Back to the homeland of Bris vegas, which I could not be more thrilled about. The kids have settled nicely into a lovely school, I am slowly acclimatising to this thick Queensland heat and getting myself and my days organised. I have just joined a gym, and did my first class today which felt really good. I also gave Bikram a go a couple of weeks ago, and after hating it the first 2 times, by the third time it was feeling much better and I think I will definitely go again, on a semi-regular basis. The 12wbt started up again last week, and I am really looking forward to reaching a few of my fitness goals this round and also getting to my ultimate weight which is about 7kg away. I have also signed up for a few events, including the Brisbane City Raid that Paul and I are doing this friday night, and then in early March I have a 5km run that I have signed up for, so I am looking forward to that too.

On the home-front the house is starting to pass as liveable, even though it is tiny and is really not made for a family of 6 and all the possessions that come with those 6 people. All four kids are sharing a room which is actually working well so far, and I am quite happy with how their room is looking, we got some new bunk beds and spent a small fortune at Ikea, so we have managed to actually keep all of their clothes in their room also which is awesome.

I have also set up my sewing room / office which was totally overdue as I have orders that I need to get moving on, and I just couldn't do it with it being such a mess. So starting to get on top of things and now I just need to become an expert planner and then I think things will run very smoothly. Paul starts his new job next week, so it will be weird not having him around so much, but I am looking forward to getting into my own routine as well. He has secured a management position with a particular fruit that grows on trees, and I couldn't be happier, surely this could only mean my future is filled with shiny new technology, pity about the bad timing purchasing an ipad and a new iphone 3 weeks ago! Oh well...

I am off to the sewing table again now to finish up a beautiful quilt going out to a pregnant mummy, what is your afternoon looking like? 

Lets get physical!

In an effort to finally break into those pesky 60's, I have started a one month trial membership at a local gym. Last week was my first week and I think you could say that I have started off with a bit of a "gym junkie" type mentality. I did 9 sessions last week and really enjoyed it. I tried many new classes, some which I liked more than others. The Zumba was quite similar to the classes I had been doing previously so I have really liked getting back in there for a bit of fun, I have also liked the body pump class as I think I really need to work on my arms and abs, body combat was also a good one, don't know that I will rush back to the Spin class, although maybe every so often just to mix it up. I did miss my runs though so had to have a bit of a hit out on saturday morning. It is working out fabulously so far as they have a creche in the mornings and Oscar and India both love to go, Willow on the other hand is not quite so keen, but the ladies tell me that she is fine once I have gone and they distract her with something else. So, surely with diversifying my workouts and continuing to eat very clean I will start to see the scales starting with a 6! It will be the first time in a very long time and I am so looking forward to it, will also mean that I have said good riddance to 30kg so that will definitely be worth celebrating. Have been getting lots of compliments lately and it feels good to know that all my hard work is paying off. 

20

(This was meant to be yesterdays post, but I am obviously not very good at setting up blog posts yet!)

20kg down as of today! Feeling good, there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel - who would have thought!

Hello my name is Megan and I am a blogger????

Thought I had better introduce myself again seen as though it has been 3 months since I last blogged. I am sick of making excuses and every post being an apology, so I will just say that I really want to keep blogging more regularly but if it just doesn't happen then I will see you when I see you. I think this is a better mindset to have and at least that way I don't feel so guilty all the time.

Wow, the last 3 months have been busy busy busy! The following few posts will document some of the more exciting things that have happened, but basically there has been a lot of every day things happening, throw that in with a few interstate trips, some sewing, some markets, a sewing workshop and lots of school activities, holidays, Kindy and Day-care.

Everyone is doing really well, Willow is growing up so quickly, India has started going to Day-care one day a week and absolutely loves going to Sandi's house, Oscar has started Full time Kindy - 4 sessions a week and Stella is loving School which is great! PK is going well, hoping for a move with work relatively soon, so we will see what comes of that, and me well I am overwhelmingly busy all the time, which often results in less getting done than I would hope for. I'm sure alot of Mums can relate to this though. I hate taking about weight and so I will never really say much about it anywhere, but I am proud to say that I have lost 11+kg in the last 3 months and my goal is to have lost the rest in the next 6 months. Paul and I are starting Michelle Bridges (The Biggest Loser) 12 week Body Transformation which starts later in the month so hopefully combined with what I have already been doing this will bring more success in the weight loss department.

Ok, so there is the first post - well done me for just doing it and getting back into blogging again! Stay tuned for the next installment :)

Is this really as close as we are going to get to a nice shot of all 4 kids??

The Week in Photos

Trying to keep up with my recent increase in blog posts, and often the best way to jog the old memory about what has been happening is to look at my photos, so this post is pretty much going to be driven by what I have recently taken photos of.

I have had some good mail lately which has seen the need for the fabric cupboard to be re-organised and tidied to make way for the 70 odd yards of fabric plus a stack of pre-cuts that arrived at various stages over the week. I only took photos before the last 2 boxes arrived so you will just have to imagine them stacked in there too. It is always like christmas when I open my boxes because often it is lines that had to be pre-ordered months before they arrived and you almost forget what you have coming - I have tried to make my "dealer" cut me off, but she is an enabler and just won't let me out! Some of the treasures in the latest boxes were Soul Blossoms by Amy Butler, Central Park, Hoopla, Sugar Pop, It's a Hoot by Moda, some Sandi Henderson, Dr Suess prints, June Bugs, Teeny Tiny Zoo and couple of books that I have been hanging out for - Handamde Beginnings by Anna Maria Horner and Elizabeth Hartman's The Practical Guide to Patchwork.

I also had a win on a blog recently which I will blog about once the prize arrives, but can I just say I am so excited - 11.75 yards of Heather Ross Fabrics!!! And not FFA2 which I already had, I'm taking hard to find, jump up and down for joy ones!! So I will let you drool over that one at a later date.

In terms of actual sewing there has been a lot of Market Preparation happening for the upcoming Lollipop and Mathilda Markets, and I have just received the application to the latest Gallery One CraftART Market which I will do again too. I have made the first Bee block for one of the Quilting Bees that I have joined - it was a liberated Churn dash block (I don't even know what an unliberated churn dash looks like - so this was strictly from the tutorial!), but it was actually super easy. Shayla requested only black and white fabrics and I think it will look really effective when it is finished. I also made a library bag for a friend whose daughter started Kindy this week in Brisbane, it turned out really well and was super easy - think I might make them available via my facebook page.

Speaking of Kindy Oscar started Kindy this week too! Which was very exciting, he loved it which I knew he would and it means a few more hours of him out of the house which is great and I can get a few errands done in the time he is away with just the two little girls which is much more manageable.

Stella also started back at school this week, and I was just as glad as she was to go back - man School Holidays drag on and on and on.... never thought I would complain about that!

She has her little bestie Teegan in the same class as her which is really nice and her teacher is new and seems very nice, so all is good on that front.

I started Zumba this week too, which was actually quite fun and very funny - talk about feeling un-co! They have a creche so it is fantastic to be able to do this in the day, and my is it a work out, I was completely buggered by the end. Hoping this will benefit the weight loss goals for this year. I have started Weight Watchers and so far am going quite well - 3.4kg in 3 weigh ins so that is not bad, my aim is to be at goal by September when I am going to Malaysia with my bestie for a girls only week of sun, fun, cocktails and massages - bring it on!

Anyway, Paul is in Queensland at the moment for a conference so I am flying solo till tuesday night - yuk! but it does mean that the nights are mine and I am really hoping to get some more market prep done, so I will sign off for now and go and get on to it!