Progress Photo!!!

I don't think my other progress photo really indicated how well I was doing as I was wearing a different type of clothing in both. So I decided to retake in my new bikini! I'm sure you can all see the difference now!

Week 8 Measurements

Chest: 85cm (- 2cm from week 1)
Waist: 65cm (-3cm)
Hips: 92cm (-4cm)
Left Thigh: 53cm (-5cm)
Right Thigh: 54cm (-3cm)
Left Arm: 24cm (no change)
Right Arm: 24cm (no change)

Overall I've lost 17cm off my body! It's really nice to see these results since weight isn't really something for me to go by any more. It's just a reminder that my work really is paying off.

Thinking about where I am right now

At the moment I'm in a little bit of a rut--- I'm exhausted, stressed & sick; There's not much free time for me to do anything & there's so much I need to do. I feel like I'm failing myself at the present moment & I think my goal for the last four weeks of this round needs to be maintenance since I don't think I'll be able to push myself harder,especially with final exams coming up.

Looking at it logically I'll have plenty of time on my hands once exams are over--- too much time in fact! I'm on holiday from Nov 20 till the start of March!  During this period I'll have no issues sticking to the program & I'm really looking forward to being able to spend time preparing the lunch recipes as well--- the meal that I've struggled the most with this round.

So for the time being I'm going to try & maintain. I'm not giving up--- I'll keep eating healthy & training 5 times a week. I'm just not going to put more mental pressure on myself. If I can't cope it's okay for me to drop one training session, I care about my health but my study should come first & foremost during this 4 week period.

Weigh-in Wednesday

I weighed in at 63.6kg today! It's a gain of 300g but that's okay since I'm aiming to be 64kg. Hopefully I can get to a point where my weight stabilizes a bit more.

Yoga

I was feeling a bit down today, my back was aching all night long & I felt quite sick. So I decided to skip the gym & instead try some yoga to stretch out my back. I'm so glad that I did! I feel clear-headed now & my back feels a lot better. I might have to do this more often!

My favourite poses today were the salute to the sun & the shoulder stand (I'm doing this in the picture!)

Ah the Stress!

I'm having quite a bit of trouble coping with my workload at the moment & it's really starting to take its toll on my mood. I've tried getting my head around all the things I have to complete but I can't seem to get past just completing the assignments I have at the moment. This would be fine earlier in the semester but I really need to study for my final exams as well. This is my current workload:

Assignments/tute work:

• Management group assignment
• Macro group speech/individual report
• Maths assignment x 2
• Macro tute prep x 3
• Finance tute prep x 3

Exam study:

• Maths lecture notes 1-9
• Maths assignments 1-11
• Macro lecture notes 1-13
• Macro tute prep 1-11
• Finance lecture notes 6-11
• Finance tute prep 6-11
• Finance article x 1
• Management lecture notes 1-13
• Management articles x 29

I have to get this all done by November 10th, the date of my first exam.

I also have two work shifts next Saturday & the Saturday after. Hopefully my request for time off during exams will have gone through successfully as I have two Saturday exams & I'm definitely not skipping those for work.

Week 7

The highlight of this week was definitely all the yummy food I got to make! These are the pictures of some of the food I made.

 Monday - Basil & Walnut Pesto (4/5)

 Tuesday - Salmon Stir-fry with chinese broccoli & ginger (4.5/5)

 (same dish on plate)

 Thursday - Roasted Carrot, Chickpea & Feta Salad (4.5/5)

Sunday - Herb & Parmesan Veal Schnitzel (5/5)

I also made Lamb Koftas with Minted Yoghurt on Friday night---- my partner loved it (5/5).

My exercise for the week was also good. I did my Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday sessions on their allocated days plus added in the optional cardio. I completed my Wednesday workout on Saturday & skipped the SSS. My partner joined me to exercise on Friday & Saturday.

I weighed in at 63.3kg on Wednesday so I seem to be maintaining my weight well. Next week is a mini-milestone week so I'd like to think of something special to try if I can find the time. Perhaps I'll drag my partner to the gym to take a class of some kind...