Fiji

Yep. I did it again. I know I promised I wouldn’t. There are no excuses. Well, there are. I’ll go through it all in good time though.

 

First things first. Fiji.

 

I’ve now been and gone, and I loved it. We had an absolutely fantastic time enjoying everything from jet boat riding to shopping and we even experienced a 9 Course Degustation Menu.

 

We stayed at Sonaisali Island Resort and I guess I should have researched a bit more. Although the Fijians are friendly, this resort is owned by Aussies and you could tell. When we turned up to check in, our room had been booked out to someone else and wasn’t ready for us, with a delay of at least 90 minutes. This is not a good start after a midnight flight with little to no sleep. Breakfast was complimentary so that made our wait a little more comfortable. The burres are roomy with great views of the beach and water. I do need to note the beach is not white. The beach is more grey coloured with mud coloured water. This is due to no reefs being nearby to clean it up. Also, cleanliness isn’t high on the list. Dirty glasses can take up to a week to be replaced and/or removed and we frequently saw cockroaches. I expect this in a burre seeing as it’s pretty open, but I wasn’t expecting geckos on steroids. All in all, we enjoyed our time but will not be revisiting this resort. Trying to book our prepaid activities in was hard as they were ‘never’ available and any resort based activities were expensive for what they were. Oh and don’t forget that unless it’s a specified meal time you can’t buy snacks unless chocolate and chips are your thing. Couldn’t buy fresh fruit or even a sandwich to snack on if our tour came back a little late.

 

Apart from that Fiji was beautiful. We explored the Garden of the Sleeping Giant and the orchids on show were magnificent. We also accompanied a tour on the Sigatoka Jet Boat Safari to a village and this was fantastic. I would highly recommend it!

 

Food wise I’d have to recommend visiting Port Denaru and their little tourist area on the marina. It was fantastic and we felt comfortable enough walking around. When walking around in Nadi (pronounced Nandi) town, we were constantly being approached by people asking if we were tourists and trying to get us to buy things from them.

 

Overall we found Fiji to be relatively cheap. As long as we were away from the resort, the food and clothing was a lot cheaper than Australia. On the resort it was about the same price, if not slightly more expensive. It definitely pays to have a look around.

 

I tried to eat relatively healthy but it’s not easy in a country where the main source of cooking at the resort was in oil. I was glad to return home with no weight gain (and no loss either).

 Here are some of the photos from our trip:

Selfie @ Sunset

 

Fourteen Days and a lot of Green and White Pills

For the first time in a long time I’ve been consistent.

Today marked the fifteenth day on antidepressants. When I got up this morning and saw that my first sheet was gone and it was time for my second it made me think. I thought about how I used to feel, I thought about how I feel now and I wondered if I felt any different.

The mere fact that it took forty-five minutes to pull myself out of bed should have given me the answer. I still have sad days. I now also have angry days. I’ve had a few in the last week and for no reason at all. It’s amazing that this body that I’m enclosed is able to do so much, control so much without me consciously doing so.

This week I have also been hungry. I’m not sure if it’s boredom, or the fact I need a break, but it’s getting worse. A very wise person once said to me that antidepressants don’t hold calories to make me put on weight – how true is that! They don’t. Yet I thought of them as an excuse. The only reason for me to be eating is because I haven’t been consuming enough nutrients. There’s been junk or incomplete meals passing my lips. They’ve been momentarily satisfying, but not really nurturing my body.

The other major difference I’ve noticed is sleep. I crave a lot more of it these days. I get a lot more of it these days too. I’ve downloaded an app called SleepBot that tracks your sleep and sleep debt. I have found that this helps me immensely take a conscious step to be more aware of what my body needs. Especially now as I’m trying to heal and recuperate.

All of this was flurry-ing through my head this morning and I decided that no, I hadn’t really noticed a difference in the last fortnight. That’s okay though as the doctor had warned me to allow at least four weeks till it will start balancing out the chemical imbalances that exist within.

In another four weeks I will be flying to Fiji. It scares the hell out of me as I don’t know whether the medication will have fully kicked in by then. I get told it will, but I don’t know for certain. I’m not sure if it’s something I need to disclose or how to handle it. I’ve never had to worry about flying with medication before, this will be my first and that, to me, is strange.

So in fourteen days I took fourteen little green and white pills to help my body balance out what it can’t do itself. To date I see no change but I will persevere. I’m no quitter, I only quit the negativity in my life.

Oh and if Natasha reads this – my abs are so sore from Wednesday! I feel like I have a six pack trying to escape the protective layer of fat on my gut!

The Excitement is Just Too Much!

Yesterday was an interesting day to say the least, I’m going to leave it in the past because that’s where it deserves to stay. I didn’t have a very positive frame of mind, and hence no blog post. Today will be different.

As I surf the forums on 12wbt I can feel something stirring inside, something I haven’t felt for a long time. Today is release day.

Huh? Release day?

For those of you who have never experienced 12wbt, release day is the day our menus and shopping lists are released. It signifies the beginning is near and excitement and anticipation for the round soars. I experienced these emotions in the first round, but not the subsequent rounds. This round is the first round since my initial round where I’ve got the butterflies in my tummy.

This time I know that the program works, there is no question. I know the menu plans are easily substituted as long as I stick to unprocessed meat and vege on the days where I simply cannot stomach what is on the menu.

The big difference this time round? Exercise! I am committing to completing my exercise every day it is scheduled, one way or another! This is on top of bootcamp!!

I have less than 9 week till Fiji. I weighed 100kg  the same time last year when I was in Hawaii and it made a huge difference! I’d really love to travel to Fiji at 95kg! That would be unreal!!

So here are some similarities between this round and first round 2012, and dissimilarities between this round and the other two rounds I completed last year:

I am excited and nervous

I am making a presence on the forums and getting the support I need

I have upped the ante on this blog and my posting

I am committing to eating the nutritional plan

I am committing to the exercise

I will complete the challenges set before me

I will set mini milestone challenges to complete

And the biggest one of all….. I will not give up!!

Already I’ve met some awesome people through the forums. I am already re-connecting with my real life friends.

Anyone who is negative, ie tells me I can’t or that it’s a waste of money can go to hell! I don’t need you in my life because you’re sucking out my energy whilst I try to quieten your whinging. I only need to be surrounded by those who support me and give a damn. I’ve spent far too long pleasing everyone else. I’m over it. I don’t care anymore. I’m an adult. Deal with it.

Yep, you heard me:

My first ever 12wbt Finale



I will wear these swimmers in Fiji



Me, this year.



I am successful