Supporters keep me going

Fat - it's so easy to put on yet so hard to take off.
Welcome to week four, which means measurements and a catch-up with Brett.
I must say, I hit a brick wall last Friday where I felt I just wasn't getting anywhere and felt flat. I asked others at the gym and apparently it's normal to feel like this. Now I can see why some people just stop and never get back into exercise again.
I thought my body would be changing more than what it has, and I discovered my expectations were set quite high. This must be another reason why some people just give up.
My advice is to keep the ball rolling, be realistic in your goals, but most importantly make sure you tell people what you are doing, whether it's your new exercise regime, healthy eating plan or even giving up smoking.
The reason being, since declaring my crazy plan the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend, my family, friends, gym members and even strangers have been so supportive in my quest.
I believe if it wasn't for everyone's positive attitudes, telling me I can do it and helping me when we catch up by accommodating my eating and not having alcohol or coffee, I would not be where I am today.
I think I would have quit.
It is imperative to tell others of your goals so they can be the angel on your shoulder and tell you "Hey get your butt to the gym" or "Come on, you know you can't eat that, let's try this". Or they give you that pep talk "You're doing awesome, keep up the good work" and "Wow I can really see a change, you look great".
This honestly is what has kept me going because I can tell you that even going to the movies to chill and have a good laugh is hard when you are being so disciplined in your eating.
I went and saw Bridesmaids the other night, and all I could smell was popcorn and people next to me munching on M&Ms. Man it was tough, and embarrassing too as I found myself staring at them while they were eating them. I was not stalking you, honestly, I just wanted to eat some of your lollies.
Hallelujah to my strong will though - I got through the whole movie without a measly amount of naughty food touching my mouth.
My exercise has been pretty much the same as last week except I have had to juggle the hours as I had an 8am start for uni - so that meant a 5am wake-up call for my weights session.
The evening cardio work-outs have been hard as I did not feel as motivated, and I also discovered that going to sleep was a no go as I felt wired and wide awake until about 11pm. So mornings it is. Now the time has come where I would like to share my successes with you and show my latest measurements using the measuring tape, fat callipers and body fat percentage.
Stoked, ecstatic, proud - these are just some of the words to describe how I feel after getting my measurements done ending week four. Since starting my weight loss challenge I have kissed goodbye to 9.2kg of body fat. In terms of measurements, in less than two weeks 3cm has gone off my chest, and I pray that doesn't keep up - ha ha.
My thighs have shed 2cm and I have gained 4.1kg of muscle to help burn away those kilos. Brett is changing my programme next week to keep up the pace, so my body doesn't plateau.
So watch out for next week's column, it will be interesting.