Women of the Year

Over the last few weeks across the country groups have been voting for their women of the year within their own classes.

This year within my group I was lucky enough to be nominated through to our groups final which was held last night :)

I didn't win but honestly I wasn't expecting too with so many other inspirational women it was just nice to be part of it. We had to answer a couple of questions about our journey and selves and share around some before and after photos.

My Before and Now - Journey so Far

I have been struggling of late to appreciate the progress I've made especially after being quite stagnant for a while but putting together my before and after made me appreciate it a bit more and hopefully inspire me to continue on the rest of my journey.

It was also nice that all of us nominees got a yellow rose to take away as well as the winner getting her flowers and a beautiful canvass.

My Rose <3

I'm in a tired phase at the moment and class really took it out of me last night but it was a lovely experience and also being taster night was yummy fun.

My Taster Night Contribution 

Reflections

So 2 years ago I started a blog, not this blog but another one (i'm quite bad for this oops) that was supposed to be about my weight loss journey starting not long after I had my youngest child.
I was really (so very really) bad at updating it (yeah I know I'm not that great at this one but trust me this was far worse lol) and it just faded into nothingness until I decided to start this more general one.

But it occurs to me that really the start of my weightloss journey isn't documented in this blog and so I would like to share with you the first post from my old blog which gives a brief insight....

The Beginning

3 months ago I had my second baby. It wasn't an easy time and some major complications left me quite poorly afterwards. Finally I feel well enough to start working on getting back to me again. On Saturday i finally bought some scales to assess the extend of the "damage" i had to contend with and I was shocked and saddened with the results :(

15 and a half stone

The heaviest i have ever been! A stone more than pre this pregnancy and I was unhappy then.

I have struggled with my weight and appearance for many years but always knew I would have another baby and just didn't see the point of loosing weight and working hard when it would only be ruined later. Well now I am done with the babies its time to really sort myself out. No more excuses.

So i have made this blog. A kick up the bum in public to keep me going and a way to track my progress and experiments.

So this is me, mum of two wonderful little girls, ready to be me again. My aim is 10 perfect stone (lol) so five and a half to loose.

Wish me Luck x

After that post I went on to try a few different diets from slimfast to raspberry ketones and do you know what I achieved? Not a lot really. Half a stone for almost two years of effort (ok some effort), not great. I guess this makes me appreciate how far I have come in the last six months, and a lot of that is down to having tried slimming world and a new found positivity (yeah there's some under all that angst really) towards it all and getting exercise (occasionally).

I still have some way to go but for the first time in my life I feel like I will actually get there (albeit slower than I would like) :)

Flarring Up

I can go long periods of time without major painful days so I guess another flare was on the cards at some point. I have been quite down over the last few weeks and low mood brings low energy but I haven't really experienced any considerable pain for a while.

So with the 3k's I was running (ok ok mostly walking but there were periods of jogging involved i did ok!) last week, the exercise induced injury to my shins and extreme stress and worry about a friend recently, it really is no surprise that I woke up today feeling like I had been hit by a truck.

The fact remains though that I am still a mum, and it is still the holidays and life has to go on.

So here I am fighting through the pain and tiredness looking after my babies (watching Rio and eating ice pops counts right?) and doing what needs to be done. I will still cook a meal tonight whilst struggling to lift the pan, i will still make lunch (ok we've done lunch its past noon and it was sandwiches but hey im writing poetically or something) whilst my back cries out. I will still laugh and cuddle my girls, never letting them know truly how much it hurts to move.

That is my life, it's how I've always lived and nothing new to me. A new label doesn't change the way I feel and I will not let it change the way I live my life (for the worse anyway).

Back on Track

Since my birthday I have struggled with getting back on track with the weight loss and exercise etc bobbing up and down on the scales and not really training.

If the 3k on sat showed me anything, it's that I really need to get back on it! I've already been out once this week although my shins are complaining and the wii fit is making an appearance (well getting used as it's usually in sight....glaring at me...) again and I'm feeling a bit better for it.

Weigh in last night went well with 3lb off so let's hope this is the start of a new good streak :)

And do you know what else I love? This morning I had 2 chocolate (hifi) bars, a muller light yoghurt and pot of mixed fruit for breakfast and it's all free (bars are hexb) on slimming world! Get in 

Healthy Breakfast - why I love slimming world

History in Colour

Yesterday I ran my first ever organised run! Well when I say run I mean attempt to run a bit, walk a bit, complain lots and breath really really hard! But I did it, in around 30mins too, so not too bad :)

The colour road rush was a once in a lifetime charity event in aid of rowcroft hospice, along the newly built south devon link road. It was a bit of history in the making and will never happen again. When the road opens later this year we will have been the only people to make run along it in a blaze of colour (and sweat lol).

It was hard I will admit, I haven't been keeping up with my training and I felt it, but it was a good start!

I have my second run, also in aid of rowcroft, in September and I better get back to actually training. Especially as this time it is a 5k! I'll post the link at the bottom of this blog if you would like to sponsor me, would be nice to smash my (small) target for a worthy cause x

And how has fibro been throughout this? Not too bad on the whole, I was alright during my practice run on Friday night but feeling tired throughout the main event. Blimey did I hurt this morning and of course energy levels are pretty low now, but all in all it hasn't been too bad really. I guess I am just really lucky on that front, and I am grateful for that :)

Ready to go!

A colourful ending :)

And a link to my justgiving page xxx
https://www.justgiving.com/jema-payne/

You've come a long way, don't forget that.

It's hard sometimes, remembering all that you have accomplished when there is still so far to go.
That actually even on the worst weeks when things really aren't going the way you'd like, there were many many more before when they did.

For many years I have battled with my weight and self image. I have very low self esteem and basically spend a lot of the time hating the way I look. It isn't healthy and I know that, but it is what it is.

I have tried so many diets and training regimes before so for one to actually work seems almost too good to be true. I still don't believe it. A whole stone and a half later, eating all the food I can eat and even treats? Yeah how can that be real?

But it is. It really is and I need to remember that. I have lost weight and am doing great, have a bad week it's ok. Try again tomorrow and little by little, bit by bit. I WILL get there. One Day.

So here I am at the end of a bad week remembering that actually 22lbs is an achievement and the rest WILL come off if I just keep going.

Be A Happier Parent with NLP - A Book Review

So as you guys know from time to time I receive stuff to review and sometimes I share this with you; you lucky, lucky lot! 

Well a couple of months ago I received a copy of the book "Be A Happier Parent with NLP" by the lovely Judy Bartkowaik.

Here is a short summary of what the book is about:

"Be A Happier Parent with NLP" gives you the skills you need to raise a confident, secure child in a confident and secure manner. The book uses the tried, trusted and proven techniques of neuro-linguistic programming to help tackle areas in which you may feel you lack confidence as a parent, while at the same time giving you the skills to help your child be happy, fulfilled and confident him- or herself. You'll find yourself feeling less guilty, more in control, and communicating better with your child--at the same time be able to support your child in difficult situations and help him or her grow into a well-rounded adult.”

Now I was new to NLP and what it was all about, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect from the book, or how it would be laid out; but actually, I was really quite pleasantly surprised!

The book turned out to be really easy to follow and actually very enlightening.

I, like many other parents often struggle with communication with my children, often ending up in a lot of shouting, much more than I would ever really like (to be honest anything is more than I like). The book gets you thinking in a different way on how to communicate and exploring new techniques (well new to me anyway!) in how to deal with them. 

The book is laid out in lots of little sections for different situations. There are far too many to go into here but some of them include:

• Building a rapport with your child         
• Helping them succeed at school 
• Communicating
• Using NLP to parent your teen
• And just loads more!

I’m not gonna lie, i struggle to find time to do much of anything these days (like alot of us mums and dads!) but I have to say in order to make the most of the book you really need to take your time to work through it and the tasks and little filling in bits that are throughout. Even now I have not fully gotten through everything and think it will be an ongoing process for a while, but to me that seems like a good thing. Something you can work through; evolving as time moves on and different situations arise.

Do you know what I also love about this book? (Well more importantly the author) Unlike many other parenting books out there, this one is actually written by someone with children! I’m not sure why that gets me so much but it is refreshing!

So yeah basically I love this book and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to review it because actually it’s exactly what I needed at this point in my life (great believer in the universe here you know!) and I can’t think of any reason to give it less than a full 5 stars.

I shall post a bit about the author and book below, I thoroughly recommend giving it a go! Xxx

Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9888089-be-a-happier-parent-with-nlp?from_search=true&search_version=service

Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Happier-Parent-Teach-Yourself-General/dp/144411056X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435876640&sr=8-1&keywords=be+a+happier+parent+with+nlp

Judy Bartkowiak comes from a business background where she worked with Toy companies and TV production companies helping them to understand children and their relationship with brands such as LEGO, Baby Born, Bratz, Thomas the Tank Engine, Pocoyo, Fireman Sam and many other well-known names. She runs Kids Brands Europe alongside her NLP training and coaching www.kidsresearch.co.uk and has a Facebook Kids Panel for Market Research which is done online or from her home.

She has an NLP training and coaching practice NLP Kids www.nlpfamily.com, specialising in child and parenting issues and runs Kids Brands Europe (www.kidsresearch.co.uk) as well as writing for children as JudyBee.

Judy loves playing tennis and reading as well as spending time with her family.

Email Judy judy@nlpkids.com for your FREE mini book ‘Be a happier parent with NLP’ and apply code ‘Blog’ to get 10% discount off Judy’s books  at www.nlpandkidsbooks.com