First update for 2017!

So...last year around September I hit my highest weight for a lot of years. After being 173.1 kilos in August 2006 and then getting down to 79 kilos in 2012 I was back up to 133.6 kilos. So what happened? Oh I could give lots of reasons (ie excuses) but the plain truth is I didnt keep my eye on the prize...didnt stay goal orientated...got lazy....and spent too many nights on the couch eating pizza. Recently I was asked what is it that got me to turn things around. It was a very gradual thing...no huge lightbulb moment. Last september I started to eat better (I was already still doing 2 PT sessions a week at the gym) and then in the second week of October I decided to join my gyms 8 week challenge. Whilst I did it I didnt committ fully. There was weekly bootcamp sessions which I only attended one of. I never followed the eating plan completely (and my trainer wanted me to do that) I did tho lose some weight. When I started that challenge I was 129.9 kilos and by week 6 of it I was down to 122.6 kilos. I then lost my focus. I had set a goal to lose 10 kilos and while i was going to be within a few kilos of that goal I knew I wasnt going to hit it. It was also late nov/early december so I was starting to get in xmas mode. Needless to say I didnt finish the challenge and I gained most of the weight back. Then in December a HUGE part of the transition happened. For the last few years my carb cravings had been out of control. So as last ditch effort on December 17 I decided to give up diet coke. Now let me explain...I drank a LOT of diet coke (3 litres a day) so I decided to go cold turkey just cut it out...I knew I might feel crap for a month or so but decided this needed to be attempted. So I drank my last one on December 17 and then about 4 days later I had a real low moment lol. I felt crappy....I wanted the diet coke....I didnt want to do this weight loss anymore and wanted to stop PT/the gym. So I messaged my trainer and said "I wont be in for the rest of the year Ill message you when I am ready to come back" (with no intention of going back lol) Well my trainer replied and was like...come in tonight and lets talk. So I went in and she asked me what was going on. I explained about the diet coke....she kinda laughed and said no wonder you feel crappy. She agreed it was prolly what was causing the cravings and thought it was super important I do this. She made me promise to stick to it...to not replace it with another bad habit (ie juice, cordial etc) and if i felt i was about to have a diet coke no matter what time of day I was to message her lol.At that point we also discussed what I wanted out of 2017 and that I was tired of coming to the gym on my own and not knowing what to do. So by the end of the conversation candice had decided she would send me a weekly workout every week (i have gathered quite a collection of them now) and we also decided I would do weigh ins with her for accountability. The first week of giving up the diet coke I wasnt perfect. It was the week before xmas and my real focus was just not to drink diet coke. Xmas day I didnt eat as much as I expected and then when I woke on Boxing day I had no interest in food. I was like wtf!! I thought maybe I had a stomach bug...but (10 weeks tomorrow since i gave up the diet coke) ive not had one of those carb cravings. When the new year rolled around I knew this was it and 2017 was going to be the year I got back to the me of 2010-2012. I started attending the gym 5 days a week. And started losing weight fairly consistently (often not big losses but I was pretty consistent on the scales) I started the gyms 12 week challenge this past saturday and I plan to do weekly updates here. My starting weight of the challenge was 121.2 kilos (by my scales). I have set 4 goals..... 1. to attend 1 bootcamp session per week for 12 weeks 2. to lose 12 kilos 3. To do 6 assisted pull ups (on the pullup machine i come nowhere near doing even one currently) 4. To do 6 commandos on my toes The week the challenge started I also had a body scan done by sa body analysis. I will be getting another one done at the 6 week mark and again at the 12 week mark. If I attend all 12 bootcamps and lose 12 kilos a week my trainer has told me at the end of the challenge she is going to pay for me to see her nutritionist so I can build a eating plan to go on with after the challenge I have many goals this year.....this 12 week challenge is just the first bunch of them! Till next time :)