You Can’t Stop Progress!!

Seeing is believing! I cannot believe the progress i have made over the past few weeks…
I knew that getting my home organised would make me feel better both at home and at work but you would not believe the transformation!!

I find myself sleeping better, eating better and even being more productive at work. Don’t get me wrong, there is still more i need to do at home but the change that has happened already is amazing. So, watch out world when i do finish cleaning my house cause i will be UNSTOPPABLE!

Which funnily enough is my word for 2013!

If you haven’t seen this already then hop to it! Ladies, i swear this is the most amazing thing i have ever done. It is a Create Your Incredible Year Workbook and Planner and i swear it has made me far more productive and far more excited about this year!! Part of it is choosing your “word” for 2013, you are suppose to pick a word that energises you, motivates you and inspires you to make this year your best year ever. So this year i will be UNSTOPPABLE

One of my favourite things in this workbook is the 100 things to do in 2013, if you have been following my craziness on Instagram or facebook then you would have seen my attempts at my list. There is so much stuff on it already, but i have so much more to go!!

I also thought it might be a good idea to share some of the things on my list. Now i won’t be sharing everything because some of it i’d prefer to keep them to myself. But there are some that i can share so i thought, why not!

100 Things to do in 2013

– Learn a language
– Learn to make my own jewellery
– Study something
– Play Paintball
– Find a hobby
– Visit Melbourne
– Buy a Reid Bike (Watermelon)
– Get a tattoo (have been trying to do this for the last 10 years! lol)
– Give up softdrink for 30 days
– Go on the ‘Great Barrier Reef Glass Bottom Boat’ cruise
– go on a ghost tour
– go camping

and this is only just a fraction of my 100 things to do this year!! I still only have 32 things on my list but its growing every day.

But even more exciting, i have already started a few things on my list. Like making my own jewellery

This is what i have done so far and i have to say, it is so easy!! I did not think it would be so easy!
and the other thing i am doing is starting to learn a language. Italian is my language of choice and i must disclose that i have no hope of becoming very good at speaking it but i am going to give it a go!

anyway, thats enough from me now. Off to bed to watch some Will & Grace, seriously forgot how much i love that show!!

Night night all, may you dream of ways to make your 2013 an incredible one!

xx D

Project Organise!!

So in the last 2 weeks i made the decision that i had far too much baggage weighing me down… Figuratively and literally speaking.

Not only did i have a lot of emotional baggage but i had so much crap in my house. Boxes and boxes of stuff that i was yet to unpack from my move to North QLD over 18 months ago!!!!

So clearly there could be nothing in these boxes that i actually needed, because I haven’t used them for so long. I was also holding onto a lot of old clothes that i haven’t worn and haven’t fit me since I was 18 and a size 6. S it was time to let it all go!!

I threw out 3 boxes of clothes, 2 boxes of random crap and a whole lot of rubbish. Here is a pretty pic of my new wardrobe

I went from having 2 giant boxes of clothes plus hanging clothes plus 5 draws full of clothes, down too just the hanging clothes, and 2 draws that are half full. BAM!!! That’s what I call down sizing haha.

I also had 3 boxes of random stuff like books i will never read and “collectables” that I had no use for. All gone gone gone!!!!

I can’t tell you how amazing it feels… I feel so amazing! Don’t get me wrong though, I still have a bit to go. A little more organising to do and more stuff I’d like to get rid of. So that’s what I am going to do… Keep going on my crazy cleaning spree and rid myself of the rest of my “baggage”.

And below, a little project i have been working on. A jewellery display i have been making for a little while. At the request of an old friend, who has an amazing site that you should check out at http://throughmylookingglass.me/

I am going to post pics and a guide on how to make one of your very own!

So the top is what mine looks like so far and the bottom image is the inspiration 🙂

I am pretty excited to get it finished and hope to have it all completed this weekend. After Australia Day celebrations of course 🙂

I hope you all take a little something out of this and endeavour to rid your life and home of “baggage”.

Have a wonderful Australia Day!!

xx D

Cleaning out the clutter

I have recently been thinking about some of the best ways that i can help myself along this journey, not to self discovery because i know who i am and i don’t want to be one of those cliche bloggers. You know those ones that spit out what they think you want to hear…

So my journey is about getting ME back, getting my life back on track. Making sure that I am happy with who i am…

So i’ve decided that one step i need to take is to de-clutter… Yep, you know what that means. Throwing out the crap!

I am somewhat of a hoarder, especially since the passing of my mother… I have kept a lot of things that perhaps i shouldn’t have, because i have no real need for them. I have a lot of kitchen utensils/appliances that i don’t really use but that i have kept because they belonged to my mum.

So times that by 10 years (almost) and you can imagine how much crap i have that i dont really use.

So thats what this week is for…. I have taken a few extra days from work to organise and de-clutter. Only holding onto the things that are A. Actually useful and i will actually use them or B. personal things that hold some kind of significance. i.e School Year Books, Photos, Old scrap books from preschool. Things of that nature….

Everything else has got to go!!!

One things i find myself holding onto is old clothes, most of which i would never ever wear again, but am too attached to my old self to let go of them.

But i have come to realise that i don’t want to fit into my old size 6 jeans, because honestly i am a woman not a 12 year old girl. I don’t have to be skinny to be beautiful, curvy can be sexy too!!

So thats what is happening this week, out with the old and in with the new!

I am getting a lot of my organising inspiration from pinterest… You can search my username danicajanee to check it all out. Of course i will show you the finished product once i am done.

wish me luck everyone!! its going to be painful lol perhaps for entertainment purposes i will post some pictures of what to keep and what not to…. i am sure some of my old outfit choices will amuse you and i am not afraid to share 🙂

thanks for stopping by!

xxD

Where did the time go?!?

Ohhh dear, let me start by saying that I have been incredibly busy. But still its not excuse for my almost 2 month absence from blogging!!!! I cannot believe how quickly time has gotten away from me… And unfortunately so has the weightloss….

Luckily, I haven’t put on any kgs, i think I have slightly yo yo’ed a little going up then down and up then back down again a few kgs. Especially over the xmas/ new year weeks…. Lol

But I am back and with vengeance!!!

Good news is that I finally have a fully functioning kitchen!!!! Yay! *claps hands excitedly*

In other good news, some of the very few readers i actually have, have been so kind as to keep reminding me that I made a commitment to myself and to the blogosphere that i would keep on track… So to those wonderful people (you know who you are) thank you!!

Ok so speed round of updates

I am 109kgs – no more than my last blog but i don’t think I actually told you all how much I weigh so there you go! There it is…. It’s out there now! Haha

I am still yet to post my “before” pics. But I promise you, I will…. And I won’t be pulling a disappearing act again. Scouts Honour.

I am still working like crazy and have been sticking to my healthy eating, with a few more “naughty” days than I would care to admit.

So its the new year and we are well overdue for a new Danica, well not new….. Just me with a bit of “body work” done. Haha

Well I’m off to clean my kitchen, yes it’s still so new that i still love to clean it. That will pass though…. I know it

See you here same time same place, tomorrow!

D xx

Celebrate every achievement, no matter how big or small

Words i intend to live by during my journey; celebrate every achievement, no matter how big or small…

Let me take you back 6 weeks ago, when i first finally started to realise that i needed to do something about this state i am in.

Ok, so i went shopping for new clothes to go to the gym in. Complete with new shoes and all. Everything i thought would fit fine and because i hate to try on clothes in most shops i just bought it all and left. Got home only to discover the pants i bought (in 3 different colours) didn’t fit properly…

But fast forward to today when i decided to give them another go and OMG they fit… I have a little bit until they are a little less form fitting but they totally fit!!! i couldn’t believe it!!!

So i am wearing them now as i am telling you all about it lol

Its about celebrating the little things, i find it motivates me towards the bigger picture 🙂

Now i am off to do my pre-season fitness test. Well at least as much as i can get done tonight.

off to drop some more kg’s 🙂

xxD

Busy Busy Busy

If Weightloss was so easy, you wouldn’t feel that sense of achievement once you reached your goal – Unknown

This is sure going to be a tough ride, so many different lifestyle factors can get in the way of sticking to this plan. I experienced that this week…

I could lie and say that i didn’t have a slip up, that i stayed on track the whole time etc etc… but the truth is, i didn’t. I promised that this was going to be 100% truthful and i meant it.

So as some will be aware and others not i work in the cinema industry and this week we had one of the biggest movie releases of the year. A personal favourite of mine; the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn part 2. Yes yes yes, i can hear all the uhhhhhhhhh’s and noooooooo’s even from the other side of the country! lol but truth be told, i love them and that isnt going to change :p

So anyway, breaking dawn part 2 came out on thursday and we had the midnight screenings on wednesday night… getting ready for these things is no easy task. One cool thing about it was that i was on the radio and in 2 newspapers for it. Pretty cool, but all part of my unreal job!

Anyway, so any movie franchise like Twilight, HP, Hunger Games etc etc etc are a busy time for us and i just ran out of time to breathe, let alone eat. Most nights for the last few days ive had no more than 4 hours sleep… so my diet kind of went off track. I wasnt eating regularly and when i did it wasn’t good food. I am pretty annoyed at myself that it happened.

Mark my words…. I WILL NOT LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN!!!

I am determined not to let this bring me down! I will keep fighting on….

Good news is, the 12WBT starts officially on monday and even better news is, i have lost 4 kgs since starting the pre season tasks!!!

I have measured up like i was suppose to, so i can track my progress… I also HAVE to post those horrible photos by monday. So you can all expect so before photos of me very soon!!

Off to enjoy a walk on the beach now…. you should see the view! pretty much amazing

xxD

Perspiration Inspiration

Isn’t in funny the things we draw inspiration from?

Sure we all look at the Victoria Secret models and think, “Damn, why can’t i look like that?”
But i am talking about the actual inspiration. The thing that made you get up one day and say, “I will not go on another day doing nothing to achieve the body that i want”

Because i can tell you, it sure as hell is not a model or a celebrity that kicked your ass into gear and it wasn’t my source for inspiration either.

For me it was the sudden realisation that i was not living my life. I was hiding away from the world hoping that no one would see me like this. I was hiding behind all these excuses that were hurting me, not helping me.

It was looking in the mirror and really looking, seeing myself for what i had become.

This is not me, i am not this girl!

Those who don’t know me, or haven’t known me for a long time would not ever realise just by talking to me now, but i was once a very shy person. Afraid to be myself, afraid to talk, afraid to live! I stayed clear of things that i thought i couldn’t do.

Like when i was very young, in primary school. I had a group of friends, all of them went to dance classes and oozed all this confidence. I envied them, i wanted to feel that confident but i was to afraid. Afraid of what people would say, what people would think of me. I hated the thought of being judged.

Fast forward to high school, where the group of friends i had in primary school was split up because we all went to different schools. I was petrified of the unknown but i saw it as a chance to re-invent myself and be that confident person that i always wanted to be. So once i got the braces off in september of year 8, after enduring months of ridicule from my peers. Actually i look back now and it was all pretty funny, they would call me things like metal mouth (pretty standard) Brace face etc etc. But i think my fav one was shredder lol where a guy in my yr 8 home ec class went to the supply cupboard and bought back a cheese grater and came in and said “Look its danica’s cousin” lol – funny right? I can laugh at it now but for a 13 yr old girl with serious confidence issues it was tourture! hahah

so anyway, after the braces came off i started to become the outgoing person i always wanted to be. I started taking dance class, drama , music and all the performing arts classes they would let me take.

Most people that knew me from yr 9 onwards would think i was lying when i say i was always scared!! I had some serious confidence issues, the fear of never being good enough.

So fast forward again to yr 12, where i was in the school musical, the cheer squad, dance troupe and even dance troupe captain! I was in several talent quests and was super confident!

This continued on for years, i stopped caring about what anyone thought and just lived my life

Until 10 days, 2 hours & 36mins ago when i all of a sudden stopped and realised that i was letting myself go back to that scared little girl!!

So I said to myself

“Danica, you overcame this fear of judgement when you were 14 years old. You are now 27, stop thinking about it and do something about it!”

I could not believe that after all that time of getting over this ridiculous fear and self worth issues that i had let myself come full circle back to this annoying person!

So that people was my AH-HA moment, my perspiration inspiration!

I refuse to let myself become what i worked so hard to leave behind. Though i am sure my family will try to tell you that i have no confidence issues what so ever, but being with family is different lol

So this is where i leave “Shredder” behind (again) and just be me!

Would love to hear your ‘perspiration inspiration’

xxD

1 Week down, an eternity to go

At the very beginning of this journey, a whole 7 days ago, i began pondering just how long it would take me to give in to my cravings… To pick up that chocolate or to buy that something sweet that i know i want…

Its 7 days on and i am proud to say that it has not happened yet!! Its pretty incredible what willpower can do.

Now i know you are probably saying “come on Danica, its just a week! What do you want? A medal? A parade and a marching band?” Well no, its not worthy of a parade or a band playing ‘Celebration’, but you have to celebrate the little things. There is no point taking this journey if you are not going to pat yourself on the back for even the smallest achievements.

Making it a whole week with only the tiniest of slip ups, remember my hollandaise sauce a bfast one day. If not you can read about it here

So yes, i am pretty proud of myself. Before i made this commitment to myself to change my life for good i would not have made it 2 days without reverting back to my old habits.

I would say one of the best things i could have done was cleaning out the pantry of what i call my ‘FatGirl’ foods. So even when i am sitting here watching tv and i get a craving, there is nothing in my house to knock me back to square one.

I feel like my weight loss journey is a giant game of snakes and ladders, one wrong step and i start back at square one. But take a chance and roll the dice with all my power and i will win this fight.

The Fight Against the FatGirl!! lol

xxD

8 Days and counting

Only 8 days left to go and in that time i need to take those dreaded photos…
I DONT WANT TO!! lol Really not at that point yet, i have tried and tried for the last few days to do it. But i just cant!

Dont get me wrong, i know it has to be done and i am not delusional cause i am very well aware of what i look like. But its photographic evidence out there for the world to see!!

Technically i dont have to do the pics for about 6 days yet but still… i wanted to get a head start!

Anyway, so have been continuing my healthy eating and its going really well. I had to fight my desire to eat lollies at work yesterday but i did and it turned out ok…

I took the puppy for a walk today along the beach and it was pretty good… It was super hot and windy so it wasn’t as pleasant as last week but hey, what can you do.

On todays menu was

Breakfast: Rolled Oats topped with banana and strawberry YUM!
Lunch: Ham & Cucumber sandwiches – also pretty good (Rye bread not white bread)
Dinner: Oven cooked chicken with a spinach, cucumber & cherry tomato salad (no dressing!)

Here’s Dinner

It may not look like much but it was pretty good. I enjoyed it which is kinda the whole point.

I am super surprise at how much i am actually enjoying eating so healthy. Like i said in an earlier post, i’ve tried this multiple times in the last 12 months and failed… but this time i am going to make it stick!!

off to bed soon, gotta get in that much needed sleep 🙂

xxD

Chicken-ed out

Yes, by now you would have noticed that i didnt post my pics yesterday. I may have chickened out… But i really really wanted to!! I just couldnt do it!

But on the bright side, i did take my dog for a walk along the beach yesterday. Dont know quite how long for, but i know it was over an hour!! Massive achievement for me, considering i usually lose interest after about 30mins

Today however it was back to work and i put my will power to the test when we went out for a mid morning meeting and decided to have lunch.

So i order this club sandwich, knowing fair well that it would probably come with chips. BUT you will be very happy to know that i did not eat any of them!! I did pick one up, just out of habit… took one bite and alarm bells went off in my head saying ” NOOOOOOOOO WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!”
So i put it down and didnt take another bite!! I also stopped eating when i was no longer hungry! Not when i was full, when i no longer felt that hunger feeling!!!

HOLY CRAP!!! Never ever thought i would make that progress! Every time i have tried this in the past few months it hasn’t worked and now all of a sudden its something i am not even consciously thinking about! Ummmm pretty amazing!!

So anyway, my day continued on like normal and now i am sitting at home watching some How i met your mother and eating my dinner for this evening

Garlic roasted chicken with asparagus yum yummy!!

Here is a pic

once again using a smaller bowl so that i trick my brain into thinking that i am eating more 🙂

This dinner was kind of just a throw together meal, so i don’t have a recipe but i basically pre heated the oven to 200 put my chicken in a roasting pan after i put a bit of oil on some paper towel and greased the bottom of then pan.

Reducing fat by not using too much oil 🙂
So after putting the chicken in i covered the top of each piece in garlic granules and roasted on 200 for 45 mins. After 45 mins i then cut my fresh asparagus into halves and put those in the pan to and cooked for another 15 mins

and thats it. Pretty simple, minimal preparation time… Just the way i like it lol

So i have decided that i am going to try to put my pictures and measurements up on sunday… i said try, so hopefully i will 🙂

Off to find some healthy recipes!

xxD