Is this a Hicky or a Bruise?

At least that is what Katy Perry asked after her last Friday night out. Was it a hicky, or in fact, just a bruise?

Well this Katy was asking herself the same thing this Friday morning, but the markings in question were not from any kind of sordid alcohol induced risky business!! Rather, a rather tight pair of swimming goggles!

I really love swimming. I grew up at the beach and love the water. However, now living in a city, I am not always near the ocean, and plus, for me, all the waves make it more a place for recreational swimming, not calorie burning!!

7 years ago when I embarked upon a big fitness/lifestyle change, I unfortunately broke 3 toes only a few days into it. Rather than give up, I decided to go to the local council pool and do laps. This combined with my eating regime (remember, it was just 5 shakes a day at this time), and I continued to lose weight over the next few weeks until I could start putting a full body weight back on my foot.

This time though, I have no broken toes and I have been lucky to be able to do lots of different exercise - every morning on my exercise bike, kickboxing, body pump classes at the gym, and just this week, I have started to learn to run - more on that on a post coming soon!! I do however, still suffer some occasional knee pain as a reminder of several bad knee dislocations in the past, and have wanted to add some swimming back into my routine to burn calories, get the heart rate up, but take a bit of pressure off my poor little caps!

I researched around and found that the school a few minutes from my house has an 'open to the public' pool and gym, and much to my excitement, the pool is heated!! For those in the South Brisbane area, it is at Summerville House Girls School:
http://www.swimmersguide.com/query/Detail.cfm?PoolID=6843

Tuesday night I went for my first session and did 20 laps (1km), and I noticed that every Tuesday night at 6pm they have one lane closed off for aqua aerobics. I even saw the ladies in the class using pool friendly hand weights at times. I think I will be trying this class next week (it is only $9 on top of the pool entry for a 1hr session!)

This morning I was pumped after my 60min bike session, and decided to back it up at the pool, to aim high and go for 40 laps. Every lap, I was just thinking of the next lap, and visualising how great I would feel when the 40 were done. I broke it down into little sessions in my head - lots of 5, lots of 10, 50% completed etc, and in between this I sang songs I had to learn to myself, I pictured myself in my 'before photos', and any number of other things to spur myself on. I wondered what those professional swimmers think about when they are doing hundreds of laps!

With just 5 laps to go, I realised my goggles were feeling rather tight over my ears, and started to really feel them sucking in on my eyes. It was almost the want to see how ridiculous my eyes looked that made me get through the last 5 laps faster than the other 35 I had just completed!

I got out of the water and had to literally peel the goggles off my face. The red rings were instantly noticeable, but underneath my eyes almost looked a bit green in the light. It had me wondering 'are the markings from the suction, or might these goggles have been so tight that I have actually slightly bruised my face?!' Walking to the car (yes I did drive there, sorry everybody!), I was feeling heavy as lead for a minute or 2, after the weightless feeling of being in the water, but I also felt stoked that I had set a goal for myself this morning and achieved it relatively easily. What's more, it was a great extra session to throw into the mix when joints are feeling a little sore, as there was no pressure on them. I will definitely be trying to keep up 2 pool sessions a week over the rest of the 12 Week Body Transformation program - and beyond.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, the songs I was learning in the pool are for a wedding I'm singing at tonight, and you will be pleased to know that my eye hickies have now disappeared.


:)

Now I'm Inspired - Where Can I Put It??

Further to last night's blog about inspirational quotes, I would love to share a post from blog - SaveMumSanity. Now I am not a parent (unless you count the cats), but this is a wonderful blog about one woman's experiences as a working woman, first time Mum, homeowner, and all the other exciting things that come with being a woman in their mid 30's. I enjoy all the posts and love commenting on them - positive feedback is another way we can boost each other's confidence to keep going with what they are pursuing!!

Tonight SMS has posted about a diy project I have wanted to try for some time - an customised fabric covered inspiration board.At a time when I am pursuing something that seem trying and challenging, inspiration is what is going to keep me going!!

You might love the funky, yet calming tree design she has chosen, or perhaps chic black and white striped could be your thing. The options for your background fabric really are only limited by your imagination!

While some people would use this as a memo board, or a different twist on the traditional photo frames on the wall, I am thinking of tucking into each diamond segment, photos of myself when I was at my desired weight, inspirational quotes, inspirational images, my wedding date (as that is certainly something I am working hard to get slimmer for), and things relating to my exercise milestones - eg, my wristband from the 10k kayak even I did at the end of week 1. I am going to position this board somewhere prominent, so I can always see it to remind me of the journey I am taking. I'll add photos as I go along so I can see the benefits of sticking to the 12WBT. Once I completed my inspiration board, I will be sure to upload a picture.

So here is is - SaveMumSanity and the inspiration board.http://savemumsanity.com/2011/06/27/a-place-for-inspiration/#comment-1108

And while I am at it, I better practice what I preach. So thanks Bel @ SaveMumSanity for always believing in me and being a wonderful inspiration! You are pursuing your dreams, and I am really proud of you, plus you are GREAT at what you do x

Tell everyone - You are Beautiful

I would like to share with you all a lovely little page I just saw on facebook. An opportunity to tag a friend, loved one or just someone you know, in a picture of a business card being pointed towards the viewer stating 'You Are Beautiful' (pass it on).

It got me thinking of positive mantras and how a few words can really inspire us in our daily lives. I will be keeping my eye out for more of these to share with you on the Return of the Mackie blog site. Be sure to let me know of any good ones you have seen!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=815343848#!/medi/set/?set=a.210233722353874.51613.181622791881634

Those Germans have done it again - discounted exercise equipment and clothing this week!!

Hi there!

Well, I can honestly say I have been to Aldi supermarket twice.

The first time it kind of creeped me out with it's ultra strange vibe inside. The second time it was a similar feeling, but I came out of there with some strange foreign crisps, some not so soft toilet paper and an unnecessary electrical kitchen item. I will say though, I have tried their melting moments - to DIE for, and about 2 months ago a slow cooker for $20 found it's way into our home - and it is fantastic!

I may need to make a 3rd trip in this Thursday, as this week's specials have some cracking offers on exercise clothing and equipment. Seeing as I have never really purchased things like kettle bells before, I am not sure how to compare the quality, but for $20 a set, I think they could be worth a look at least.

See the link below, and check out your latest Aldi store this Thursday, June 30th to score some of these great deals.

http://www.aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/offers_20110630.htm?WT.z_src=main

A Return to What?

So, this is NOT the first time I have embarked upon losing weight.

Nooooo???? You don't say?!!

I mean really, which one of us has not tried to shed a few kilos at some point or another.

But this is not a few kilos I am talking about, I am talking about a LOT of kilos, a HUGE amount - at least 30, but in reality, closer to 40. Wow. That hurts just to think about. But I have done it before, and I know I can do it again. In fact I AM doing it again.

At 25, I decided I needed to seriously and drastically lose weight. No starving, no purging, no vibrating exercise machines, definitely no diet pills. Initially though, it was medically monitored meal replacement shakes. 5 a day, 800 calories in total, with an optional bowl of vegies at night if you wanted. It took just 8 days until I experienced my first, and only ever experience in life with extreme constipation. I guess that is what no real food will do to you!! Once I got over that (and for those wondering, it did take a few days to get things going again!!) I got into the swing of exercise, even after tripping and breaking 3 toes, and after 3 months of shakes food was slowly reintroduced. The major weight loss was out of the way, and it was time to learn to fend myself around real meat, fruit, vegies, and one of my favourites - carbs. I did fine, and eventually after 6 months came to lose about 30kg, which I maintained for a few years. Slowly but surely though as job and lifestlye changes, the weight crept back on - plus an extra 10kg. Well into the obese section of the BMI, my weight had for the first time skyrocketed into the 3 digit figures.

Until I decided to do something about it.

This time though, I am doing things differently. In January I looked at the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation, and with my November wedding looming, I thought it looked good, but decided I could do it myself. WRONG!!!!! Of course I did nothing. No exercise, not much home cooking, and definitely not losing any weight. So I started for Round 2 2011, and six weeks in, I have already lost 11.1kg!! I am exercising every day, some days morning and night, I am eating cleanly - and deliciously, and finally this week I am actually starting to see and feel the differences in my whole body shape - not just my face in the mirror.

This blog is a space for me to share with you the everyday activity that is my life as a busy musician, manager of a homewares store, wedding planner (my own, which is in 5 months), but most importantly, to share my story of being just another overweight girl who can be even more than she is if she wasn't held back by 15 years of lazy behaviour and bad food choices. Who doesn't want to be the fat girl in her circle of friends anymore. Who can and will and IS already achieving more than she thought she could, just by making some different life choices, and yes, for now, putting in some damn hard work to get there. To return to me.

The return of Kate Mackie.