Tuesday 10 January 2017

Drop 2 dress sizes in 6 weeks

Towards the end of 2016 I went on a huge health kick and dropped 2 dress sizes in 6 weeks. I started at a size 12/14 and I am now a 8/10. I can assure you it can be achieved and i'm not talking about fad diets or juicing. All it took was exercise and healthy eating. 



I've struggled with my weight since having children. I've always been up and down. I guess it's a combination of eating more and a lack of energy and enthusiasm to exercise. Whilst weaning my second baby I would sit and finish any leftovers. I'm sure if you're a parent you've probably done that to. I also found it a bit of a drag to try and prepare lots of different meals. With a baby, a toddler and working, the last thing I wanted to do was prepare myself and hubby one meal and the kids something else. Time is precious and I certainly felt too busy to be doing things like that.

I've also suffered with PND. This combined with the tiredness of being a parent, really hadn't helped in providing any motivation to exercise or eat healthily. There were days when I couldn't even leave the house due to my PND so the the thought of leaving to do some exercise was completely alien. However, my attitude to life was completely wrong (more on that in a later blog post).

It was whilst I was looking back on photos from our holiday to Turkey during the summer that I realised I didn't even recognise myself. I had gained a lot of weight and I was very unhealthy. I was ashamed and gutted. This is not the example I wanted to set my girls. I wanted them to look at their mum and see a strong, confident, happy, healthy woman. It was time for a change.



I can't believe I've put this picture up for you all to see! I hate it.
I decided to get myself a personal trainer. This was the boost I needed to:
A - Get myself to the gym
B - Be able to do the right exercise for me
C - Provide me with nutritional advice
and D - Get me results.

I met with my trainer once to twice a week in a 6 week period. This combined with exercising 3 times a week and a healthy balanced diet enabled me to drop 2 dress sizes in 6 weeks. I lost a massive 5 inches from my waist, 0.5 from my hip, 1 from my thigh, 1 from my arm and gained 0.5 on my chest. I also lost 12 pounds in weight.





So what were we doing?
Exercise consisted mainly of weights, resistance and hiit (high intensity interval training). This worked perfectly for me as I am not a fan of cardio especially running. Think everything from burpees, jumps, squats, sandbags, kettle-bells, planking and much more. We would focus on one muscle group per training session but when we did hiit it would be an all over killer session.

What was I eating?
I reduced my portion sizes for a start. This didn't bother me as I was eating a more balanced diet which kept me fuller for longer. I was eating breakfast, a mid morning snack, lunch, mid afternoon snack, dinner and then a final snack before bed. This was more than what I would normally eat but as I said the portions were smaller and more targeted for weight loss and toning. The diet consisted of lots of protein, superfoods and no alcohol. 
I'll be going into more detail about my diet in a separate blog post but here's what a typical day looked like:
Breakfast - Banana, Porridge Oats, Skimmed Milk
Snack - Fat Free Yogurt
Lunch - Chicken Salad
Snack - Carrot Sticks and Humous
Dinner - Prawn Stir Fry
Snack - Rice Cake
I also drank a lot more water during the day. 

I'll be sharing my journey with you in a lot more detail from now on but I feel like it is only the beginning. I want to tone a lot more and I now know it is achievable after how quickly I have managed to change my body and mind set already.  I've certainly eaten and drunk way too much over Christmas so as soon as my family head back to Australia in a few days it's back to my normal routine.

I have fallen in love with clean eating and exercising again as I have seen all the benefits it has given me such as more energy and motivation in every aspect of my life, not just with exercise. Keep your eyes peeled for my meal planning posts, exercise posts and recipes. 





Buggies and Barbells
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60 comments

  1. Kerry you've done so well, you look amazing!

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  2. Wow, Kerry! I never knew! You've done so well!! I'm hoping to follow in your footsteps! I'm healthy eating and exercising every day! x

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  3. You look amazing! Well done! I think you looked lovely in the picture in Turkey, but it has nothing to do with what other people think - the important thing is how you feel. Keep up the good work! x

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  4. You did great. I lost a lot of weight last year and i didn't do any dieting at all, just had a really good fitness plan and cut down on a lot of stuff

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  5. Wow two dress sizes in two weeks that is an amazing effort darling well done you! X

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  6. You have done brilliantly Kerry. You look great in that photo. I really need to do something about my weight and have to start exercising again.

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  7. You have done so well, well done! PND is awful isn't it? I put on so much weight from it after having my son as I comfort ate and didn't want to go out. xx

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  8. Well done you have done bloody amazing!! If only other women took a note from your book and opted to choose exercise over a diet. Yes diets may work in the short term, however they aren't sustainable and really aren't fun. Thanks so much for linking up on #TheGoldenBurpee, we hope you return.

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  9. Wow Kerry well done you look amazing!

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  10. Well done you, the effects of your hard work are there for all to see.

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  11. Well done hun you have done amazingly, you look so fit and healthy. I can't believe you lost two dress sizes.

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  12. Great work Kerry, you have done really well. Hope your fitness journey takes you even further!

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  13. I don't think you looked bad in the before pics but you do look great now, well done. I'm just trying to get started myself with a healthier lifestyle!

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  14. Well done! You look absolutely amazing! And the best part is you did it in a healthy way. Great results.

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  15. Amazing work Kerry. You look fantastic!

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  16. You look fab! I could have written that post myself! I feel the same as you did at the start! I started last week eating cleaner and back exercising im only 3 days in to exercise but already feeling the benefits! Can't wait to see more progress x

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  17. You look great. Wish I could get my lardy butt off the sofa! x

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  18. That is amazing, well done. I am trying to loose weight but its slow progress

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  19. Wow - that's amazing, what an inspiration you are and you look fabulous. Well done!

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  20. Well done! You look amazing. What a fab achievement :) x

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  21. You are looking so amazing. Well done! Hopefully in a few months I will be able to post some before and after pics too!

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  22. You are looking really good hun. How much did the personal training cost? X

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  23. You look amazing! I'm definitely thinking of getting a trainer soon xx

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  24. Wowee, well done! You look amazing! x

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  25. Wow well done Kerry. You look amazing xo

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  26. Such a great achievement. Shows that if you put time and effort into it then you'll achieve the results you want. Well done :)

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  27. Well done in achieving your goal. Being happy in your own skin is what is important and its great that you've achieved that

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  28. you look so good- that black dress is gorge. I have been thinking about a trainer as I'm in a bit of a rut so think I'll look into it x

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  29. You always look amazing no matter what weight you are. Having children will put weight on you but sensible.eating and light excercise is the perfect combination
    Well done on your regime

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  30. Fantastic results! I think money is the only barrier from me using a PT!

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  31. You look great!! Definitely works for you x

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  32. You've done so well, amazing results! And what an example to set to your girls :)

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  33. WOW!! Well done you! That's a hell of a weight loss in that time, I am guilty of eating crap and never exercising, maybe one day...!! xx

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  34. Ahh, I totally needed to read a post like this just now. I'm 7 weeks post-partum and desperate to tone up and lose the baby weight. I've been so tired that my motivation has been lacking though - I need to make time to get back into exercise. You've done so well. :)

    Jenna at Tinyfootsteps xx

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    1. I bet your tired being 7 weeks post partum. Defo make time to exercise when you're ready as it'll make you feel like you've got more energy. X

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  35. Well done, you! That's an amazing result in just 6 weeks. Although, I think you're being very harsh on yourself to begin with as I think you still looked lovely to start with. It's amazing how much better you can feel in yourself after a bit of exercise though, isn't it?

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    1. Definetly. I just wasn't feeling myself and feeling very lazy too x

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  36. You look fantastic! I would always be hungry on that diet, so well done you didn't give up. Carry on and good luck!:)

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  37. Well done! What an incredible start, glad you are feeling happier x

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  38. Well done, that's amazing!! You have done so well.

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  39. Wow well done, you've done really well and you look amazing! I don't have much motivation at the moment but I need to do something.

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  40. Well done lovely! You look amazing. And for the record, you look happy and healthy in your before photo too.
    Alana x

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  41. Wow! Dedication! I admire you. I've quit alcohol too and I'm seeing the weight drop off!

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  42. You have done well. I am trying my best to lose my #DadBelly (!) but it's a slow journey. You've inspired me to keep going!

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  43. you look stunning! congratulations! Also your diet look very healthy, well done! x

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  44. Wow, well done Kerry and great that you have done it in a healthy way. You looked fab before, but I also know how it feels when you are not feeling your best. Glad the personal training worked so well for you. x

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  45. Oh good for you. I've started going to the gym and it's true that once you start eating well and exercising you really don't want to eat too much rubbish. Very inspirational post and I'll be popping back to check out your menu's ;) You looked gorgeous in the 'before' photo though as well as the last pic x

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  46. Changing our diet makes miracles in loosing weights. People think that it's all about going to the gym but it's not. The gym only tones your body, you still need a healthy diet in order to actually lose weight.

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