1 November 2013 - Day 1

Woke up this morning feeling knackered and down in the dumps. I looked in the mirror and hated the image looking back at me. 

I didn't have the confidence to post a photo of me in just my underwear, so I took a selfie of me in my joggers. Here it is:

Now before any of the haters/trolls out there start having digs at me, I had a baby only NINE WEEKS AGO! 

Some of you will probably think I don't look too bad considering and are wondering why I'm doing this 30 day challenge.  My answer to that would be for ME! My world now revolves around my son, and I don't have much time or money now to spend on myself. I'm unhappy with how I look at the minute and seriously lack confidence in myself, so much so I have to force myself to go up to Tesco a couple of times a week, else I'd not leave the house other than to visit family. 

Anyhow, here are my measurements that I took today:

I've taken my Semtex (30-45 minutes before exercise), which arrived this morning, and am now going to do the first lot of exercises....

... JEEZ!  That killed me! My sit ups were more like crunches to start with. Had to pull myself up by grabbing on to my joggers to get myself fully sitting up!! 

Did the crunches and sit ups first (10 of each). Got 10 sets into the squats and thought I was going to collapse!! I managed the full 25 though!! 

Now, even though I have shakey legs, I feel better for doing just that little bit of exercise. Plus now I'm thinking I should have saved the hoovering until after exercising because now I feel like I have too much energy, but with my back being buggered I have to be sensible and careful. 

So that's day one done! Bring on day 2!! 

To see how my cousin is doing with the challenge, check out her blog http://saraheartsblogger.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/november-30-day-challenge.html?m=1

Ciao for now!!

One day to go

Sooo tomorrow is the day I start the 30 day abs and squat challenge. 

Here is the schedule:

To assist me with this I have purchased some Semtex from www.jstjodie.co.uk

I have taken it before, but sporadically, and I didn't exercise when I took them so didn't find them effective. I just thought they'd give me a burst of energy like red bull. 

That's not how they work. They're mainly fat burners so I'm hoping if I take them AND exercise this time I'll see results. 

I'll get my measurements done later and post a pic if I'm not too embarrassed with the result! 

Right, got a hungry baby to feed, ciao for now!

Pam xx

I'm back and ready for a challenge

So, over a year later I'm back. I've had a baby since the last time I blogged. He's 9 weeks old now, and it's time to get my body back in shape, and to improve my general fitness levels which I hope will stop me being so tired all the time.

From the 1st November I will be doing the 30 day abs and squat challenge, with support from my cousin Sara (she's doing it too!). I might also do the 7 minute work out challenge (I downloaded the app last night). 

As before, I'll keep you updated and will post photographs and videos on my progress.

Wish me luck!!

Pam :) 

Stuck in a rut

Well. What can I say? The past month has been rather slack where my health and fitness is concerned. I have been feeling rather stressed and pressured at work as I am effectively doing 2 jobs at the minute.

Being a born worrier, I find it hard to switch my mind off at the best of times. When work is bothering me, then I turn into an insomniac.

Over the past few weeks, I have been surviving on 2-4 hours sleep a night. There are nights when I have had 7 hours sleep, but it's been broken sleep.  We all know we need 8 hours sleep in order for our bodies to repair and rejuvenate.

As you can imagine, I am totally knackered. I have no motivation to do anything. 

I have stopped doing my art work, haven't been to the gym, haven't been doing any exercise at home, and I have been comfort eating.

In addition, my medication for depression has now been increased as I could feel myself going into a downward spiral and I am being referred to the psychiatric liaison team as I have started to develop mild paranoia! I have put this down to the lack of communication at work, being kept out of the loop with things combined with the pressure I feel under at the minute. I guess I'm proving my blog title right, 'Cat lady goes crazy...' hahahahaha.

I guess a lot of you are feeling a little bit uncomfortable now because I'm talking about mental health. In particular, my mental health.

If you want to see me as a crazy person and no longer wish to be associated with me, that's fine. It's attitudes like that which we need to change. 

It's 2012 and there is still an unbelievable amount of stigma around mental health.

I digress...

The low mood and feeling of being unworthy and feeling shitty about myself have taken me off my path of becoming fit and healthy. Everything seems to be too much effort and all I want to do is sit in bed watching tv (which is what I'm doing as I write this), and sleep. I hate feeling like this. It's a vicious cycle though. I can feel on top of the world one minute, and the smallest thing can happen and I come crashing down to earth with an almighty bang.

In a bid to try and drag myself out of it, I have ordered a lot of healthy food to be delivered from Asda the weekend, so I can at least get back on track with the healthy eating. I'm also planning on dusting the medicine ball and dumbells off too, but one step at a time huh?

The one thing I am pleased about though is that I am still only 12 stone 4lbs. Even though I'm having a tough time at the minute, I'm still managing to keep the stone I lost at bay.  

I still have a target weight of 11 stone, and I will achieve it. I just need some motivation and encouragement I guess.

That's all from me tonight. Adios amigos.

P x

Day 44

Ok, so it's been a couple of weeks since I weighed myself. I've gained 1lb, but the last 2 weekends have been rather indulgent where food is concerned.

I am still going to the gym every Saturday with the PT and I'm loving it.


I love exercise that much I've dusted off my old dumbells and purchase a 3kg medicine ball which I use to tone up at home.


If you go back to 'The Brutal Truth' on here you'll see photos of when I started.


I'm now proud to show you what I have achieved so far. You'll notice that apart from awesome taste in knickers , my tummy is flatter and my ass is less saggy and more round.

Really need to get my diet back on track as I have been having refined carbs again the past few weeks. Too many occasions to celebrate etc. I need to re-focus on my goal and push myself harder.

Next lot of pics I hope show washboard abs and buns of steel :)

Ciao for now.

Pam x

YAY I made it to 4 weeks

I got to 4 weeks so I made a video blog to celebrate!

Day 21

First off, I need to apologise for not updating this for the past 12 days. I have been extremely busy with work and art projects that by the time I've thought about writing an update on here, it's time for bed.

So, I've made it to day 21. Well done me! I'm not going to say it's been an easy journey so far. It's been tough! Real tough! I still crave chocolate and biscuits. I miss toast, chip butties, cake, but I know abstinence is the best course of action for me to take right now, simply because I have an addictive personality. I know that once I let those foods back into my diet, they'll stay there and the good work I've done over the past three weeks will be for nothing!

As I didn't get to go to the gym last Saturday due to flooding, I took my mum's dog for a run and then on Monday night, I did some exercise on the parents Wii Fit. I was shocked to see how unfit I actually was. On Tuesday I couldn't walk very well as my calf muscles felt stiff. Walking down stairs was very difficult, yet amusing to friends and colleagues.

On Wednesday, mother and I had a go at the Ministry of Sound Pump It Up dance workout that I had bought a few years back and only used twice. I managed only 20 minutes, before I was sweating like a pig and crying like a girl! Mum, however, did a full 35 minutes! I was well impressed. I'm also very proud of the progress my mum is making. It's good that we have something we can do together, and we provide encouragement to each other. You can really see the difference in my mum's figure. I called her this morning and you could hear the change in her voice; there is a ring to her tone now, instead of sounding down. WELL DONE MUM!! KEEP IT UP!

Anyway.... back to ME!! I finally got to have my first session with Daiva (my personal trainer) yesterday at the Pure Gym Wolverhampton. I really like it in that gym. They have put the free weights at the back, around the corner so I don't feel intimidated by the body builder type folk. The people that attend aren't all up their own arses; they're normal people like me, all different shapes and sizes, just trying to get fit and healthy.  The staff are great too. Very helpful and not up their own arses either!

Daiva did all my measurements, took my weight, worked out my BMI and looked at the percentages of fat, water and lean muscle in my body. She was surprised that my lean muscle was at the recommended rate, considering my body fat was a lot over the recommended percentage. My body water content is 40% - it should be 50% - 60%. This just confirmed that I don't drink enough water.

We then got down to business. I have never been worked so hard in my life! I thought the guys at my old kick boxing school were tough, but Daiva - I'm not sure if it's because she small, Polish or both! Boy! She really earned her money!

For those of you who have never been to a gym before, or haven't used one in years I'd highly recommend getting a PT for the first couple of months. They check your posture when exercising, correct you if you're doing it wrong, and work out a training programme. Most of the exercises I did yesterday I can replicate at home. I just need to get a pull up bar and get the inflatable ball back from my mum! Oh, and a medicine ball.

Ooooh, I forgot to say: When I measured myself again on Monday, I'd lost an inch all over! I'd also lost 8lb in the first 2 weeks!  I'm going to post some more pics of how my body has improved, but not until I have been working out with Daiva for at least 4 weeks. I shall work out with her on a Saturday morning, and attend the gym twice a week before work - I'm thinking Tuesdays and Thursdays will be best to allow time for recovery. I also need to get some muscle rub, ibuprofen and protein to aid recovery.

I also need to thank a few people on twitter who have dispensed really valuable info to me over the past few weeks. These people are Jai and Matt and if you are on twitter, you should follow them, just because they're awesome (and hot), but mainly because of the awesomeness and quality of their advice.

That's it from me today. My body feels battered, but I know it's all for the greater good. I never thought pain would make me feel happy. Jeez, I've become one of those sadomasochistic people! 

Laters folks xxx