Judy, where have you been?

Its been a while since we have heard from Judy on my blog, and also a while since I have met up with Judy to find out how she is doing in her fat-loss program.  A few of my readers have been enquiring on her progress, so here is an update she sent me today.


I'm proud to say that I completed the Sporting Life 10k race for kids with cancer on Sunday May 2nd.  I honestly wasn't sure whether I was actually going to do it or not and decided that morning at 5am that I would go.  I was fighting two ear infections and a sinus infection on top of that.  I really don't enjoy jogging and had one 3 mile practice run about two weeks before the day of the 10k race.  I was not prepared.  However, I did complete it in 1.001mins without stopping the whole way.  Hurray for me!!!!!!  

I'm still going to the gym at least 3 days a week and have started riding my bike with the kids.  That means one on the seat attached to my bike and the other in the trailer behind.  It's a good load.    

My downfall is my eating and it's not what I'm eating (I eat right foods) it's how much I eat.  Not enough sometimes.  I have to make a conscious effort of eating every three hours and drinking.  I haven't weighed myself and the measuring tape tells me that things haven't really changed since the last time we measured me.  I have to get back to work.  I desperately need to lose this tire around my waist by July.  We are planning a trip to Greece and I WANT to look my best!  Amanda you probably feel like you're beating a dead horse.     


Over the next week or so I will meet up with Judy and try to get her back on track.  It is pretty common to lose focus along the way, so hopefully with a new workout plan, re-enforcement of the using the journal and the incentive too look good on holiday, she will start to see more improvements. 


After all I think we are owed some new photos, maybe bikini shots from Greece?

Go Judy!! Go Judy!!!

(image from www.boxfituk.com)

Judy is now into week 5 of her personal challenge to lose the last of her baby weight and regain a feeling a confidence in her appearance.

I met with Judy on Tuesday morning to go through her new workout  (which is pretty intense) and to do measurements with the tape measure, scales and calipers.  She has had a rough couple of weeks personally, but despite this has made huge leaps forward, here are her numbers;

tape measure -  a total loss of 10.5cm.  6 cm of which were from her waist.  I think this is awesome, I am really impressed with this. She has totally lost her muffin top and I could barely pinch her stomach to do the skin fold test.

calipers - I wish we had done this at the beginning of the process as I know there will have been a huge drop in body fat.  Her numbers yesterday stood at 21.86%!! again really impressive.

weight - to date Judy has lost 6.5 lbs.  She really wants to see big numbers on the scales, where I am more impressed with the previous numbers.

read below to hear what Judy has to say.

Hi Amanda,
Just an update on how things are going.  Everything was going well up untill the first week in February when a very close friend of mine passed away.  Things went down hill.  My eating habits changed as I had little or no appetite.  Sleep.  What sleep? My workouts suffered drastically since I had no energy in me. All in all I felt really crappy. Things definately slowed down.
So as of yesterday I'm back on track.  I felt pain like I had just started excersing all over again.  But I like that pain because it makes me feel like I've worked my muscles.  However, something that I would really like to work on is this embarressing problem I have with peeing myself whenever I do certain excersies.  Sounds gross!  Ever since I had my two children, doing things like jumping jacks or skipping rope would leave me soaking wet.  You could bet I was always wearing black to the gym which made it less noticable and this way I could stay for the rest of my workout.  Do other people have this problem and is there a way to fix this?
I'm kind of down on myself because I haven't reached my final goal yet like I wanted to by this point.  But I'm still making progress.  I know I've lost inches and my clothes are fitting better and better.  But I think to help speed things up, I have to get my daughter off my boob that she still wants every night.  I heard that my body will retain body fat inorder to produce the milk that's in demand.
I'm going to do this!!!!! 

Judy

Its interesting that she talks about peeing during particular exercises.  Its a common problem for women after child-birth.  I have read loads of articles of the subject and the results are always different.  Kegels definitely help the problem, but it some cases it appears that stress incontinence is something that can only be fixed by surgery, depending on the severity of the problem.  Has anybody else any thoughts on this?

Update from Judy: Week 2

Judy has been working really hard in her efforts to lose the last of her baby weight. Below is her update from this week.  I know that Judy is really hung-up on seeing the numbers fall from the scales, rather than actually just seeing the results as she looks in the mirror.  As she had made a journal of her progress we could  look at the food she was eating and will now be making a few changes. The main thing is that Judy stays as focused as she is and looking forward to that final goal.




Hi Amanda,
I have been working my tail off in the gym and doing my best at eating small and healthy meals every three to four hours.
My husband and friends say that I am looking better.  I am feeling great.  I've got more energy and I just feel like I look better.  But than the other day, I decided to get on the scale.  Expecting to see some great results, instead I was very disappointed.  I had lost only 2 pounds.    What's up with that?  This is about the time when I throw in the towel and sit down to a huge piece of chocolate cake and eat away.  With one last hope, I quickly grabbed the measuring tape and measured my waist.  I have lost 3inches around my waist.  The chocolate cake is forgotten and the fat fight continues.

It's funny because I usually get hungry when I'm supposed to which is every three to four hours.  As for my workouts, you know what I'm doing.  I am coming home sore from the workout.  My chin ups are still hard to do but I'm trying.
Judy


(image courtesy of daily.mail.co.uk)

Meet Judy

I think all of us have a pair of trousers we really want to fit back into!!

A friend of mine, Judy, really wants to lose the remaining 15 pounds she has retained from her last pregnancy.  She has two children and leads a very active lifestyle, but has struggled to shift those stubborn pounds.

Judy is a member of a local gym and visits a couple of times per week, but after speaking to her and looking closely at what she is eating and how she is exercising, I spotted a few simple changes she could make that will hopefully make some significant changes.

Here are Judy’s before photos.  You can she is beautiful and has great legs! But there are a few unwanted inches around her torso that she would like to remove and redefine – yes she will get a six pack at the end of this and fit into those trousers!!

She lovingly calls these her ‘disgusting fat before pictures’.  She also provided me with some simple body measurements and her starting weight:

Neck            34.5cm

Shoulder     109cm

Chest         100cm

Upper arm    30cm

Waist           93cm

Hip              96cm

Thigh           52cm

Calf             37cm

On the scale 154.5pounds

Here are the changes we are making to Judys lifestyle:

1. Firstly I am asking Judy to make a food journal.  She won’t do this forever, but initially she is writing down all the food that she chucks down her mouth – everything!  She is already a healthy eater by most peoples standards, but she doesn’t eat enough, not nearly enough. Most people are surprised to know that to lose weight its important to not only eat the right foods but to eat enough of the right food.  She therefore needs to avoid going into starvation mode.  Instead Judy is now eating approx. 5 – 6 meals a day, each of these meals contains a combination of lean protein/complex carbs/good fats. 
2. Secondly, Judy has divorced the treadmill and said goodbye to 1 hour boring runs. Instead she is picking up weights and doing strong metoblic workouts.  To burn fat you need to create lean muscle tissue. Running for hours on end on a treadmill is going to improve your endurance no end, but that’s not going to help you to efficiently burn fat. She is also writing up her workouts in a journal to track her progress.
3. Setting goals.  Judy has created both a set of long-term and short-term goals to help her through this process, and joining up with me she also has a support network. If you want to lose weight and get fit, team up with a friend and make the process a joint venture, with less likelihood of failure.

Over the next few weeks, Judy will  document how she is feeling with the new workouts and food plans, if she notices any differences in not only her size and shape, but in her moods and energy levels.

I want to congratulate her on being so brave posing for the photos, and using this forum as a catalyst to losing those last few pounds.

(thanks Judy for providing these photos)