21 August – Gala Dinner and Prize giving

What an exciting day, the Gala dinner and prize giving had eventually arrived. Theo and I arrived at the Salute Restaurant in Westville excited to find out who the winners were for the second Get Fit Challenge for 2010. We had some surprising results as winners. It was good to know some of the people that I had trained with. Everybody did exceptionally well and the judging was difficult. I was very pleased to hear Steve’s name called out for the 2nd place in the mens category. He originally set out to win the competition and grabbed second place which in my opinion was fantastic, he did exceptionally well. We had three winners at our table this evening, 3rd place in the mens category, 1st place in the ladies catogory (I remember when I first met her at the orientation, she was so inspired by my story as being the “Biggest Loser” winner of the previous challenge that she actually went on to win this challenge, she did herself proud and it was her birthday today) and right next to me the “Biggest Loser” in this challenge. She looked absolutely stunning and a very well deserved win. A fabulous dinner was served, the food was exceptional. We watched the slide show on the computer in absolute awe at the changes our bodies had taken over the past 12 weeks. This challenge has been really an experience for me and I worked very hard to achieve the results I wanted. I have lost a total of 29.5 kgs since I started in January and have learned how to actually be successful in losing weight and getting your body back into shape. It has been hard work but so very worth it! I would like to thank Denver and Neil for the opportunity to participate in this second challenge and the support I received from Leroy as well. Well done guys, you’re the best!!!

12 Weeks – Final Measurements and Weigh-in

Swung past to the Get Fit Challenge venue for final measurements and weigh-in at Gillets. I wore the same outfit that I wore for the before photos to see the exact difference, so put shyness aside once again and had the after photo taken, this time there was much less of me again. Whoopee, lost a total of 14.3 kgs, 63 cms and 10% body fat. Am thrilled to bits, 5.7 kgs short of my goal that I had set for myself for this challenge but nonetheless very pleased with the results. I have worked hard during this challenge and included spinning to my cardio routine 5 days a week. I feel that if there is a will there is a way and you can achieve your goals. There is no excuse that you cannot lose weight, I have proved it through this Exercise Diary, weight loss goes hand in hand with eating healthily and plenty of exercise, maybe not to the extreme that I have gone but anybody can do it if they tried. Looking forward to seeing the before and after photos of the other competitors at the prize giving. Next time put a smile on your dial, Liz, when you take photos of yourself!!

Weight 90.1 kgs before 75.8 after 12 weeks

7 August – Last workout session at 8 am in Westville

Well the day has eventually arrived for our last workout with the Get Fit Challenge. Attended the KZN League meeting with the Masters Athletic Association for 5 kms race walk at 6.30 this morning. My knee was niggleling a little but managed to complete the 5 kms with no problems. I knocked 20 secs off my prevous time, which is a good whack for my second league attempt and also not doing much race walking training because of my knee injury. Then rushed through to Westville to attend the very last workout for this Challenge getting there with plenty of time to spare. We had a kick boxing exercise routine like what we had on Tuesday. By far, this exercise session was one of the most strenuous, probably because of the 5 kms race walk earlier but was pleasantly surprised to see that I coped well and kept up with everybody except for the last set of push-ups. Did not even attempt to try and do the last set. Enough is enough!

































Woopee, rest at last, sleep-in on Sunday morning and a much earned rest for the rest of the day!

3 August – Week 12 – Something different

Sneeked in an extra challenge session this morning at 5 am. Today we did something completely different. Kick boxing, abs and skipping. It was kind of different for a change. Come to think of it, this challenge has been thoroughly enjoyable, far less boring than just going to gym and working out on your own, you are part of a team which makes it more fun. I’m feeling a little sad that it has come to an end already, but am definitely looking forward to the next challenge. I would love to see what I look like at normal weight. It has been so long ago that I have forgotten what it felt like to be slim. Even now, I haven’t gotten used to having lost 34kgs yet. I still pause when I look in the mirror and cannot believe that image reflecting back at me is really me. On Friday and Saturday it is the final weigh-in and measurements to tie up this challenge, it will be interesting to see what results have been achieved this time. Unfortunately I’ll have to miss the final exercise session on Saturday morning due to the Masters Athletic League, definitely cannot miss that. My fitness levels should be better since the last league, so it will be interesting to see what my 5 km times is going to be this time. Just hope my left knee holds out, I really battled this morning and was hobbling a little, quite uncomfortable.

31 July – Week 11 – One more week to go

Yoohoo, won 2nd place with the Herbalife challenge, way to go Liz. One more Get Fit Session to go. Pity the weight stayed the same this week, but I’m sure it was water loss last week and this week the weight steadied to remain the same, the Get Fit T-shirt felt a little looser today anyway, so I'm not faized. Looks as though all the sweat and burn is paying off. Am spinning every day and have managed to stay on the extreme eating plan for 5 days. It seems as though everybody at session this morning ran out of steam. We were all panting and drinking a lot of water and needed longer rests. We did a lot of bench press exercises which were rather taxing and we had to move, move, move all the time keeping our heart rate up moving onto the next station. Unfortunately I still have a slight problem with my left knee and was limping a little even with pain killers. But yay, almost done, am looking forward to a week off to rest a little and just chill. Only have to push myself for one more week and getting up at 4 am in the morning to workout before going to the office.

23 July – Week 10 – Getting there

Had a fantastic weight loss this week. Challenge session was good, worked extremely hard and really built up a sweat today. Injured knee seems to be coping fine at the moment. So lets continue and DO THIS! Good news! during the previous challenge at 10 weeks I managed to step up on the stage for the first and now I can touch my toes and do the quad stetch holding my foot with my knee bent, haven’t been able to do that for years, have always done the alternative quad stretch, standing with feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly bend and hold for 40 seconds and then respeat. Yesterday morning I sneaked in an extra challenge session and then hit the sauna. Final weigh-in and measurements for the Weightloss Challenge yesterday. So another challenge bites the dust!

16 July – Week 9 – Bummer, had a nasty fall

Well, I’ve been on holiday for a week now hoping to lose a couple of extra kilos. It’s been a tough week and have felt more tired than usual. The race walking training has been taxing and also completed a PB for 10 kms on Sunday at the same time practicing my new breathing technique. Sneaked in an extra Challenge session on Tuesday did spinning every day and changed my training to the Power plate classes. Went for my usual run on the beachfront on Friday afternoon, unfortunately I had a fall at about 3 kms into my run. Managed to carry on running but felt a niggling in my left knee at 4 kms. Race walked back but my knee was hurting. Tried running, race walking and then walking, eventually limped back to my car. Had a bad night because of my knee and had already taken 6 anti-flammatories since last night. Attended usual 8 am challenge session but found half way through my knee was hurting badly and was limping most of the session. I hope I haven’t done too damage to affect my training for the coming week. Rested the entire day on Sunday and kept off my feet with my leg up. Swelling had come down a little by the evening but there is still a lot of discomfort. Will have to make a trek to the doctor tomorrow for an assessment.