Half way through - has my abstinence paid off?

I was over half through my six week challenge to get fit for Christmas and drop a dress size.

It was time for my efforts to be assessed, to be weighed and measured – literally.

I think in many ways I have been a paragon of virtue.

I have abstained from my late beloved pasta, potatoes, sweets and chocolate - although I do confess to having fallen off the wagon into a chocolate digestive and been lured to the dark side by a brownie.

I have got up before the lark to exercise – to jog and stretch and twist and strain in my pyjamas (not a pretty sight).

And so, having followed the regime set for me by health and fitness coach Ashley Bishop, the proof of the pudding, or lack of puddings, was about to be revealed.

At our first meeting, he measured my legs, biceps and waist and politely made no comment when I stood on the scales.

The measurements were repeated.

The good news was I had lost two and a half inches from my waist, one and a half from my hips and half an inch from my upper arms.

My blood pressure had dropped and my hydration was up.

My weight was more complicated. I had lost only 1.4 kgs – which seemed rather measly considering my radical change in lifestyle.

However, broken down that meant I had lost 2.4 kgs of fat and gained 1 kg of of lean weight – that is muscle to you and I. I have gained muscle!

Ashley was pleased with me. He doesn’t agree with measuring success by weight.

Both body mass index and scales, he says, provide simplistic and sometimes misleading assessments of weight and health.

The measure of success is in how you feel and how you look.

I now have just two weeks left to complete the challenge.

*To find out more, search for ABC Fitness Academy on Facebook.

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