Positive Energy....Positive Energy.....

Hi everyone!
It's been a very long time hasn't it? My apologies for that. As you know, I have had around a months worth of exams for the body component of my study, and then a week off...which also consisted of my graduation. I passed ALL my exams, including my massive CIDESCO exam, and I am totally stoked! So now I am fully qualified to do electrolysis, Swedish massage, body electrical treatments, figure analysis, spray tanning and give you nutrition/exercise advice, as well as all the things I am already qualified for (waxing, facial treatments, tinting, manicure/pedicure, makeup etc). I've started the third and final part of my study journey - spa treatments - and so far I have been loving the things we are learning! Watch this space people...I'm sure I'll have more to tell you as time goes on...


Graduation was AMAZING. As if graduating wasn't enough, and having my friends and family there, I also very kindly recieved 2 awards...I am the Elite International Beautician of the Year, and the Student of the Year for 2011! Pretty cool I think...I still get excited about it, and even though I didn't do all the hard work for the awards, I suppose it is nice to get some little award to say thanks! I got over $1000 worth of beauty vouchers, 2 boquets of flowers, 2 bottles of wine, and a box full of goodies, along with a trophy (which now sits in my beauty room!). It was a really good night, I loved spending time with my friends (old and new!) and my little brother, who is going off to Japan tomorrow! I will miss him terribly, but it gives Mike and I something to save up for so we can go and see him in Japan!

Ok, I suppose I had better update you on the weight loss for the last month or so. Mike has done AMAZINGLY. He has now lost 17 kilos. And you can definitely see it! He's super skinny now, and only has about 20 kgs to go until he gets to his goal.
I wasn't so good, I only managed to lose 600grams after about 3 weeks. But to be honest, I wasn't even expecting a loss. It has been a very tough month, exams really took their toll, so I struggled in both the eating well and the exercising department. So even a small loss is good for me. I have to get back into it now though, I need to lose so much more than I have. So it's back on the wagon for me. I must say, honestly, that I am a bit reluctant, but the next time I weigh in will be better and I'm sure will motivate me again!

Hope you are all well and life is treating you kindly! You'll hear from me again in the near future I promise! Thank you again, those of you that support me no matter what I do. Those that don't are just not worth it in my experience!! Those that have been endlessly supportive, I want you to know how much you mean to me, how wonderful you are, and how thankful I am for you.

Take care, be well, sending all my positive energy your way!

Much love,

Ngaire xoxox

Keep Calm and Carry On

Hi everybody!

Hope you’re all well and life is treating you with kindness! Just a super quick update this time, my brain is a little bit fried…exams have been taking their toll I guess. One more theory exam to go this week, and then my school exams are all over. Then it’s on to internationals, 4 exams for next week – 2 practical, and 2 theory. Then it’s on to my BIG exam, CIDESCO. That consists of a 7 (or so) hour practical exam, and a theory exam. OUCH. Thankfully I remind myself every day how much it will be worth it.

Much like weight loss really. As usual, I get to a certain point in my weight loss and I kind of lose the plot a wee bit. The good news is – drumroll please – I’ve lost a grand total of 17 kilos since that ominous day at the doctors. And I’ve lost 60 centimetres in total since starting too…over half a metre! Believe me, I’m totally stoked, and I feel so much better. I’m pretty much 4 sizes smaller than I used to be. But here in lies the hard part. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still eating well, but my portion sizes have slipped, and I haven’t been to the gym in a week. Soooo…it’s time to buck my ideas up, because I have to realise it’s not over and it probably never will be. I’m doing an extra gym session tomorrow, and I’m being very careful about what I eat, and I’ll keep my eyes on the prize, and KEEP GOING! 

So as per usual, keep your eyes and ears open for the next good news!

Take care, live well, and thank you all so much for your support!

Until next time!

Much love,

Ngaire xoxox

Something Wicked This Way Comes….

Ok. I know I shouldn’t be saying this right now, but I’m in class and have been meaning to write a blog for so long it’s not even funny. So I’ve decided to get onto that now, because I’ve got a very interesting couple of weeks/months coming up. Exams (and I find this incredible, because it’s gone so fast) are just around the corner. Literally. The second half of my studying journey is almost at an end, and I’m about to take on the epic task of completing not only my mocks, but my school exams, my CIBTAC exams and the mammoth CIDESCO exam, which is going to take up a WHOLE DAY. Probably around 7 hours to be exact. And so that means, if I pass (and I’m not failing, failure isn’t an option!) I’ll  not only be qualified for aesthetics (beauty…in layman’s terms) but I’ll also be qualified for body massage, electrolysis, body electricals, and figure analysis. Woah. My head spins sometimes when I think about how quickly this is all passing. But onwards and upwards I go…I’m taking a 94% average along with me so….here goes. Watch this space!

I’ve been on so many journey’s recently. I sometimes laugh at how different my life is now, compared to what it was only 3 years ago. I have amazing friends. Some of them have been with me for a long time, some knew me even before I finished University. Others I have known for less, but have impacted my life in such a way I honestly could not imagine my life differently. I love all the differences we each have, but that we can all be together and enjoy each other’s company so much. I feel amazingly loved, I feel as though this is how life should be, and it’s so strange that this has all come into fruition since taking my first steps to lose weight for real. The support that I get from everyone – my personal trainer, my tutors, my class-mates (who are only class mates in name, I consider them my friends just as much as the next person), my family, my friends (old and new), my son (even though he doesn’t know it) and of course Michael, my amazing partner and my best friend. My partner in crime, and not just in crime, in everything. I could not imagine taking on the gigantic task of losing…wait…what is it I have to lose again? Oh hang on…I think it’s about 60 kilograms. That’s a whole person. BUT…I have to stop myself there. Because thinking of it that way is more destructive that constructive. Because the good news is, since I stepped on the scales that day in the doctors office, I have lost a grand total of 12 of those kilograms (8kg since starting up with Sheta). And it feels freaking amazingly good. I did it. I did it the right way, and I did it myself. I ate well (reasonably…hey…birthday’s don’t count!), I pushed myself even when I didn’t want to and I went to the gym and worked my arse off (literally…it’s shrinking). Oh and did I mention I’ve also lost 45 cm from my body? It’s true…almost HALF A METRE has disappeared from my body. It feels even better to write that.

Mike has done fabulously. I love how positive he always is. This week he gained a kilo, but does that set him back. Noooo. Does he want to pack it all in and eat a double down? No way. He puts a smile on his face, he picks himself up, and he works even harder. I bet you, the next time I write another blog, he will have lost huge amounts of weight. I’ll even bet on numbers. I’m going to say that he will have lost at least a kilogram. At least. I’ll bet he’ll even lose 2. I am so proud of him. I can’t even begin to describe how proud I am of him. And how grateful I am that I have him with me on this journey. I literally am the luckiest woman on earth. Hopefully he knows that, but if he doesn’t (and I’m sure he will read this) he should know how amazing he is and that everyone thinks so.

So, I’ve got a long way to go. This isn’t going to be over any time soon. In fact, it’s not going to be over in my lifetime I would imagine. But I’m still glad I’m doing it.

Wish me luck for my exams guys…it’s going to be madness for the next couple of months! As always, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for supporting and loving us both. We are always blown away by the love we receive from all of you. 

Until next time,

Xoxox

Ngaire

P.S – Somebody at my course stole my lunch today. They stole my SOUP. Seriously…I have enough trouble staying on track with my eating without someone getting hungry and stealing my lunch! It was pea and ham and I was really looking forward to it. Sometimes the mentality of people amazes me. So if the news comes on and you hear about a “soup related murder”…that may (or may not) have been me!

P.P.S – I’m huuuuuungry!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

So as I sit here, with my crazy puppy one side of me (the newest addition to our family...who just decided to pee all over my floor...joy) and my lovely little boy eating his dinner politely at the table, I think about how much has changed in such a short space of time. For example, this time last year I was thinking about how strange it was going to be when I went back to study full time. And I was getting up when Charlie got up, and just spending the day with him doing "mum" things...which usually consisted of washing, playing, going to the supermarket, and pretty much everything else in between that involves children and housework. When I think about that time, and I think about now, so much has changed. I was even worried about sending Charlie to daycare, and he goes every day now and absolutely loves it...and it's all so much a part of our routine now that it seems crazy when things start to change again. In one more week my little boy will be a grand total of 3 years old and it totally amazes me how much he has learned in the time he has been gracing us with his happy, smiley, lovely self. He's an amazing little person and I love every second that I get to spend with him (within reason obviously...getting up in the middle of the night is not ideal when you've got hours owing at your beauty school...but that also kind of comes with the territory too!). The thought of change often scares me, and we have been through kind of a lot of it in the last three weeks...a break in, a new pet, Charlie getting tonsilitis, tires getting punctured....it's all a whole lot of change really isn't it? I often wonder why us Kiwis hate change so much, but the simple truth is, we do. We just don't like it. And so, when I went for my weigh in and got a little bit dissapointed with the result (update coming shortly!) I kindof thought to myself....maybe change is a good thing. It doesn't always feel good...in fact sometimes it feels pretty damn awful. Like when you're in the lunch room and probably the biggest person at your school says "look, you can totally kick my ass if you find this rude, but....are you pregnant?" (yeah that actually happened...believe me I was as amazed at her stupidity as you are, I actually stood there for a good 15 seconds with my mouth open just wondering what had actually gone down). But I guess we just have to accept the changes that happen, be prepared to make some changes, and be grateful for the changes that have already happened. In all honesty, if it wasn't for the changes that have happened recently I wouldn't be where I am. And sometimes change is just what you need to get your ass moving. So speaking of the weigh in, we hadn't been for 3 weeks, and in that time I had only lost 600 grams. Bummer right? Buuuuut...I have also lost 12.5cm off my body in that time too. So I guess it's not all bad. Mike however, did fabulously...with another 1kg of weight gone, and another 12.5cm as well...so I think that puts the grand total too (drumroll please...)
Ngaire = 5.7kg and 38cm
Mike = 6.7kg and 31cm
Not bad huh?!
So I guess it's onwards and upwards. I've cut back on my bread intake again, and upped my salad and soup intake, so watch this space my lovelies, I'm hoping to cut another kilo off my body! As always I will keep you posted (and I promise that it won't be so long next time!).
Thankyou again for reading, supporting, and making us feel good about ourselves...you are all amazing.
Until next time!

Ngaire xox

The start of the rest of my life...

Hi everyone, and welcome to my little slice of...well...I don't actually know. All I know is that I'm dying to share a bit of my weight loss/life journey with the people I care about, and I want to do it in a place that's not facebook. Mainly because facebook kind of forces your opinions on others, and I'm honestly getting quite tired of all the negative things I see on there, so this way people can choose to read about it if they want to, and if they don't well...so be it!
So here's a little taste of what's been going on for the last month, just to get you up to speed. I've been losing weight! I went to the doctor a little over a month ago, to kind of get some insight into why I had been feeling so unwell (even though I knew in the back of my mind that it was weight related) and she pretty much chucked the cards on the table in a massive way and explained that I really won't be around for much longer if I carry on gaining weight. So I jumped on the scales.......and when I discovered how much I weighed I broke down. 142kgs. 142. That number might as well have been 1000. Which meant that my BMI (body mass index for those of you that haven't had experience with it yet) was 53. Which ultimately meant that I was what the experts like to call "morbidly obese". Morbid. Sounds bad right? Yep well it actually kind of is....but after I calmed down I got mad. Really mad. Super mad. And all these questions went through my mind like crazy...number one was "how on earth did I let this happen?" Number 2 was "how the hell am I going to lose all this weight?". Number 3 was "how long have I got?". And then I kept being mad. But this time I used it. Every other time I have tried to lose weight, I've been through this, but never this extreme. So I used it. I used the anger, and the crappy feeling (in this situation "crappy" is a nice way to describe it...anyone who knows me well enough will know that I used a whole string of words that were a lot worse than that!) and I went home. And I went through the cupboard, got out all the junk food that I had left in there, and threw it out. I even threw out a whole block of chocolate. I have NEVER done that before. Anyway, to cut a really long story short, Mike came home, I cried, and he set me straight, said that we would both take on this journey together, and we joined the gym that weekend. I was planning on going back to weight watchers, since I had had quite a bit of success in the past going there, but when we got to the gym, Graeme (who signed us up) challenged us both to get a personal trainer instead. And I can tell you right now, it was the smartest thing we have ever done. Enter Sheta Swinerd...personal trainer extraordinare!! One session with her and we had 3 full gym sessions a week all planned for us, with weights and cardio and everything in between. We had recipes all set out for us...and they weren't just salads, there was beef wraps, and lasagne, and MUFFINS!! So we were all set. So for the last 4 weeks we have been working our arses off at the gym, plus I've had indoor netball on Monday nights...and the centimeters and kilograms have been falling off. After a little under 4 weeks, I have lost a grand total of 26cms and 5.1kgs!! And believe me, that will not be appearing on this body for the rest of my life. Good riddance I say. And Mike has done even better. He has a grand total of 5.7kgs and 19cms. Goodbye horrible weight, hellooooo fitter, happier Ngaire and Mikie!! So watch this space guys, I'm hoping to update it every week. And thanks for reading...just so you know, I love each and every one of you, and I thank you from the very bottom of my heart and soul for your words of encouragement, your never ending support, your always endearing love and most of all for your friendship. Both of us couldn't live without it. 
Until next time!

Ngaire xox