Well its almost the end of what I can honestly say has been a most amazing year!

2005 has been one of my happiest years so far!

Let me recap on some of the events and changes that happened in 2005:

The year started off with me having almost freshly landed back in South Africa. I was very sad to leave Australia. I absolutely loved my year there and I wish there was some way that I could have stayed BUT I came back with a positive attitude, a new look and feeling great. I had to find a job and a home and myself.

In the beginning things were tough and it wasn’t easy to find a job. I was living at my parent’s place, which I think was a bit hard for me as well as my family. They were used to it being just the four of them (parents and brothers) and I was used to doing my own thing. (I lived in the UK for 2 and a half years and then Australia for a year). But it was great to have them around and their constant support was amazing.

I finally found a job towards the end of March and that’s when things started going right for me J

At the beginning of April, I moved into my little flat.

Then, in May, my sister and her husband came for a visit from Australia and for the first time in years, we went away as a whole family. It was great!

The cherry on the top was that my sister announced that she was pregnant!!! I was finally going to be an aunty!!

At the end of August I got another job offer that I couldn’t refuse and so made the move. What a GREAT move it was! I have been happy ever since J

My brother got engaged at the beginning of November!!!

I completed my first ever cycle race!!!! (still totally shocked that I actually did it)

AND… *drum roll*

My nephew Aaron was born on the 18^th November (also happens to be my dads birthday).

And, finally and most importantly… I managed to maintain my weight, continued to get fit and healthy and NEVER GAVE UP!!!!

So now you can see why it’s been such a GREAT year for me. I can’t wait to see what 2006 holds in store. So far, I have a trip to Australia to meet my nephew AND a wedding to look forward to!

2006 HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just want to wish you all a VERY HAPPY new year!

This is our year guys!!! We can and WILL do it!!

Okay, it's only 8:04am and I have already experienced a whole day!!! Well thats what it feels like.

I woke up at 5h30am to head off to gym. I know its half an hour later than usual, but Joburg is so quiet today that I am taking advantage of it. Besides, there were only about 10 people at gym!!!!!!!! That is totally unheard of! Usually I have to fight for a treadmill (yes, even at 5am). So I had fun picking and choosing whatever machine I wanted to use without anyone else fighting me for it or glaring at me. I LOVE JOBURG IN DECEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I had a GREAT workout and was really feeling good about myself and decided to do a leeetle weigh in. I stepped onto the scale and there happened to be a cleaning lady standing next to me. She took one look at the numbers on the scale, then at me and shook her head!!!! The nerve!!!! I must admit that I was rather put out by that :( Stupid evil cleaning lady... *sulk*

I headed home after gym and had a beauuuutiful (much needed) shower and everything seemed to be going along smoothly. The endorphins were doing their thing…
BUT just then, as I was about to eat my breakfast, I was suddenly plunged into darkness.
Okay it was already light outside but my house is a bit on the dark side. The whole complex was without electricity. It wasn’t too much of a train smash as I wasn't cooking anything and didn't really need to see what I was doing.
Anyway, off I head on my way to work. BUT I couldn't get out of the complex :( There was a new security guard on duty and he didn't know where the key was to manually open the gate. So I sat there, in my car for 45 minutes!!!!!!

Talk about a good start to the day eh?

Anyway, I eventually did get out and went my (not so) merry way to work. BUT most of the traffic lights were out on my route and then for some unknown reason they decided to dig up half the main road so it was reduced to half a lane... THEN I finally get to work and some moron is parked in my parking bay!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, can you blame me for wanting to go back home and climb back into bed??

At least now I am sitting here with the knowlege that I will be going for sushi at lunch time. So all is well in the world again...

WHY oh why do I have to eat a WHOLE bag of Marshmallows when I only wanted one in the first place????

I always do this. Not only with marshmallows, but with almost every evilly bad food substance that I just happen to be craving at any particular time. Then I proceed to beat myself up about it for the next few days until I feel yet another odd craving coming on and go and buy another bag of something or other that teases and taunts me until I eat the whole bloody thing!

Oh well, at least my life will pretty much be back to normal after today.

I am very happily moving back to my (temptation free) flat tonight, after a week of house sitting and dog sitting at my parents place.

I've never understood how, at a parent’s house, the fridge is ALWAYS full!!! Even when the parents have been away overseas for the last week or two! I think that once you become a parent, you acquire some magical skill that enables you to keep all sorts of yummy food around the house.

I'm also happy because now I can get back into my normal routine and go back to gym. I usually go at 5am every week day, but because I have been at the folks place, that lovely routine has sort of drifted swiftly out the window. I have been walking the dogs on the odd occasion, but somehow it isn't quite the same. Especially when one of the dogs just happens to pull my arm out the socket almost every time I walk him!

Anyway, I’m off to go beat myself up about the marshmallows.

Right, I’ve been trying to psyche myself to do this for the last week or so. I didn't realise how hard it would be to "put pen to paper" (so to speak) and document my life. Knowing that it's going to be out there, in cyber space, for all to see!

I guess the only place to start would be somewhere at the beginning, to give you a bit of insight into who I am and where I come from etc... Just encase you are bored enough to actually want to read it all.

I came into the world on a lovely sunny day in March 1977 at around lunch time. I grew up in a happy, loving household with my mom, dad and older sister. Six years later my twin brothers were born and so our little family unit was complete.

I can’t say for certain when or why my weight problem started. But, as far back as I can actually remember, I was a chubby child. They called it “puppy fat” and assured me I would grow out of it, but somehow my “puppy fat” turned into something that resembles a rather large St. Bernard and grew with me instead of me growing out of it.

My sister and brothers were all very skinny and normal looking which I think added to my “chubbiness” being more noticeable.

I went to my first Weighless meeting at the age of 10!  I was the youngest person by far! I remember feeling VERY self conscious and miserable. I absolutely hated it and I think I ended up putting on weight instead of losing it.

Another early memory was when I was about 9 or 10 years old, at primary school. I had a passion for swimming, even though I wasn’t very good at it. I joined the swimming team. One day I had a horrible cold and told my “coach” that I wouldn’t be able to attend practice that day. She basically told me that I wasn’t sick, I was just “too fat and lazy”.

I got teased quite a lot at primary school and slowly but surely my confidence vanished and my self esteem all but evaporated.

I won’t go into much more detail about the rest of my childhood / teenage hood coz I think I might get a cramp in my hand from typing too much and your eyes might get sore ;)

My turn around came about a year and a half ago.

I was in Australia on a working holiday visa. I was having an absolute ball BUT I was at my heaviest weight ever and very unhappy deep down.

I weighed a whopping 118kg (that’s my heaviest recorded weight). My skin was disgusting, I was just able to squeeze into a size 22 and I had resigned myself to the fact that that was who I was and I wasn’t going to change.

Then in April 2004 something happened.

I honestly don’t know exactly what happened but it was over Pesach (Passover) and I wasn’t very well. I had a stomach bug or something like that and wasn’t able to eat. Something sort of changed in my head or body or soul and I suddenly wanted to become healthy and to cut out junk food and start exercising. From then on I stopped eating Mc Donald’s and the like and started reading up on healthier cooking and eating and living. I think that’s when I actually started to become the real me.

I was house sitting for someone on St Kilda and would go for regular walks along the beachfront and basically walked wherever I could. Unfortunately I broke my toe a little bit after I started my health kick so the exercise stopped for a while, but I continued to eat well and stay focused.

I moved to Sydney a little bit after that and my health kick continued. I joined a gym which I absolutely loved and I also joined Weight Watchers. I was doing okay by myself but I needed a bit more structure and guidance.  I weighed 113kg when I started at WW which meant that I had managed to lose 5kg all on my own!

After three months my gym contract ended (it was a trial basis) and the gym I was at wouldn’t let me join up for only 3 more months. My visa was expiring at the end of November so I didn’t want to pay for a whole year, not to mention that I couldn’t afford it either. I tried a few more gyms but none of them would accommodate me. I was devastated but vowed that this little hiccup wouldn’t push me off my path. SO instead of gym, I started walking from the train station to my sisters house (where I was staying) It was about a 40 minute walk and boy was it hilly!!! I also went walking every day during my lunch break.

About three weeks after my gym contract ended,  I was doing my lunchtime walk, around the Gordon shopping centre when someone handed me a pamphlet for a gym that was right near where I worked. It was a very larney ladies only gym and looked very exclusive and expensive so I figured there was no way I would get a short term contract and was about to throw the pamphlet away when I thought to myself, why not just give it a try.

Not only did they allow me to join for 3 months, but they also gave me their full service and guidance as if I was a normal long term client. They really helped to motivate me and I found myself doing things that I never dreamed that I could do.

When I started out, I would break into a sweat just from my walk from the office to the gym and by the time my contract was up, I was running for 15 minutes straight on the treadmill!!! I never dreamed that I would be able to run! I just thought that I wasn’t built for it.

If you are ever looking for a really good gym in Sydney, I highly recommend Fitness For Ladies (in Gordon, NSW (02) 9499 2477) .

My sister also played a HUGE role in my weight loss / health gain expedition.  I don’t think I would have done it without her. She has been the one person that I’ve been able to share this journey with and she never judged me and most importantly NEVER gave up on me. I just want to say a BIG thank you to you, Jae!

I’ve been travelling on and off since I was about 18 years old. My one dream was to arrive back in South Africa and no one would recognise me (because I lost a shit load of weight). By the time I left Australia I was down to 90kg *grin* that’s a whopping 28kg’s lost!!!!

I stepped off the plain a brand new person. I had a suitcase full of new, size 18 clothes (all bought in NORMAL clothes shops) and I felt more confident then ever! All my family and friends were amazed and I think I have inspired quite a few people to get their asses into gear.

A year down the line, I have managed to maintain my weight (which in itself is a HUGE miracle) and I am now a size 16. I haven’t really lost much weight, I think I’m about 88kg now, but I’m very proud that I have maintained it  for so long. My body has also changed quite a lot because I have been going to gym regularly and have continued to be healthy.

One of my biggest achievements this year is that I completed my first ever cycling race. I rode 100km in just on 5 hours!!!! I still can’t believe I did it. I burst into tears at the finish line. I’ve always had good intentions with things like that but I’ve never actually done it. Next year I plan to do it in 4 hours!!!

I still have a lot to lose and want to be about 75kg (max) by the end of 2006.

It’s my brothers wedding in November next year and I am the maid of honour. My goal is to be able to wear a sleeveless top / dress by then and to be at my goal weight. I know that I can do it. I just have to push myself a little more and keep motivated!!!

I hope that by documenting my journey It will also help me to keep myself on the right track.

I just want to say thank you to all of you  fatbloggers that have motivated me so much. I’m still very new to this blog thing but I think I’ll be getting into it very quickly.

Wow! I can't believe I am actually joining the world of blog. I'm so excited about it too. My very own blog site! Wow!

A BIG BIG BIG thank you to my best friend in the world NJ without whom I wouldn't be in the world of blog. Actually, without whom I wouldn't be where I am now either.

I hadn't really explored the world of blog properly before this week...
BUT thanks to my most amazing sister, Jae, who sent me an email with the link to DIETGIRL's blog site (which I spent the entire afternoon yesterday and most of this morning reading). It inspired me so much, that I decided to start a blog of my very own.

SO, here we are!

This is me! I'm 28 years old. I live in Johannesburg, South Africa. I am a graphic designer. And I can't find a decent enough photo to put up yet, so you'll have to wait.