I’ve been back almost two weeks from Sydney, a wonderful, crazy and emotional time back home. Every time I’m back there I realise what a special place it is and how much I miss it, my friends and family. The huge blue skies and sandy beaches and the holiday vibe of the eastern suburbs seduce me every time and I want to stay. Then weeks pass, loads of traffic, parking fines, road tolls and long distances to get anywhere and I begin to miss Auckland, the community vibe, shopping at Farro Fresh, good coffee and close proximity to everything. Will I forever be eternally unsatisfied I wonder? So, I decide to be happy with what I have now because I’m pretty damn lucky.
In my first couple of days in Sydney I published a very personal post about the body beautiful. I really hesitated about writing that post. I mean – what is too personal for a blog? I’m so glad I did because I had a lot of response to it in the comments, on Facebook, Instagram and even in emails. It seems that a lot of you are feeling the same way and it’s with such pleasure that I inspired some of you. Thank you all so much for your words of encouragement and your personal stories. If that is the only thing that came from it, then that alone is worth it!
So would you like an update? I’m happy to write that I’ve made good progress. I’m half way there and I’ve lost about half of the weight I intend to in three months and most importantly, my muscle tone has improved dramatically. I feel SO much better, I have SO much more energy, I feel lighter and I have much more confidence in myself. I feel great!
This is what I’ve been doing:
I’ve been watching what I eat but I’ve still eaten out (I was on holiday for a month of this remember!) and this includes an incredible food degustation experience at Tetsuyas. Oh yes!
I exercise six times a week! Crazy? No, it feels fantastic and I think that this has been the main thing here for me because I really wasn’t doing anything before! It is also the key thing that has given me the energy and has begun to change my body shape. Note that I wake up earlier to do this most days so I try to compensate by going to bed earlier, which is not a bad thing.
I am also aware of how many steps I do and aim for the recommended 10,000 steps per day and I track this with my Fitbit.
I drink a load more water. This is easy to do with all of that exercising.
This is what I haven’t been doing well:
My biggest downfall has been drinking alcohol. I put this down to almost every day being a social moment while I was away and naturally a glass of wine in hand is the norm. I knew that this was going to be the case while I was away and I decided early on in the piece that I wasn’t going to beat myself up about it. Now that I’m back to regular life, I’ll been enjoying these only on the weekend or at an event. Alcohol as we know, is laden with calories.
To finish off, a few Instagram shots from my time in Sydney. For more of my everyday Instagram moments, @mel_chesneau is my IG handle for you to follow.
Mel xx
I felt like I spent the entire month at the beach. The weather was superb for October. This is my all time favourite harbour beach, Neilsen Park in Vaucluse – also known as Shark Beach.
Coogee Beach is my local but there has always been a serious lack of decent bars around the place. Luckily Justin Hemmes changed that recently and bought the old (horrible) Coogee Palace and is in the process of waving his magic wand over it. Downstairs there’s a load of different eateries and bars and the best part is a kid’s play area with a giant scrabble board on the wall. Perfect for parents that want to have a chat and not have to worry about bored kids.
We spent three special nights away camping with close friends. All of our children have known each other since birth and are great buddies so it was really perfect. The trip included the normal camping highlights like roasted marshmallows, nearly stepping on a snake and a gas explosion!
Our last weekend was spent in Killcare, on the Central Coast, north of Sydney. I spent my childhood holidaying there and this time, the family was there to celebrate my fathers 70th birthday. Wonderful times and so good to have the cousins spending quality time together. Here I am enjoying some time out after a walk along the bay with Guillaume while the grandparents looked after the kids.
Looking at beautiful Sydney Harbour from Vaucluse at almost dusk.
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Mel I’m so glad that you are doing better. Well done, you are an inspiration. The photo’s of Sydney are making me pine for the sunshine at home in Oz just a tinsy bit ;) Glad you had a great holiday. xD
You can’t beat Sydney sunshine, the beaches and harbour.. But London is a pretty cool place to live too! Mel x
I just stumbled across your lovely blog Mel (via UBJ) ! I’ve yet to visit NZ but I recently holidayed in Canada, around the Rockies where there are some ultra gorgeous lakes and everyone back here kept asking “have you been to NZ? they’ve got some pretty similar, spectacular views” – so it seems it’s on my hit list now! I’m a Sydneysider, how gorgeous is the weather lately? Glad you enjoyed it back here! x
I can appreciate this post Mel, on the 23rd I did a post on turning 40 and feeling good. I have been working hard all summer and had just completed my first 10k run and was proud of my accomplishments. Of course the following week I was sick as a dog and totally off my program. This can so easily side track me and give me a good excuse to get lazy. I read you post and this morning I got back out there and forced myself to get back to it. I am getting older and now is the time to get myself in a place where I want to be and stay there. Life’s short so I might and I want enjoy it. Don’t feel too bad about an extra glass of wine every now and then. I will totally admit I am a sweets fan and love a good meal. I will definitely run more if I can eat more. Good luck with the rest of your journey.
Hi Maggie. Oh yes, I’ve been there where a small hiccup means way too long without exercise. It’s so true that if you keep going, you feel so good that when you stop for a day, you crave it but then if you stop for a week, you forget the feeling. So glad I inspired you to get back to it. I agree that now is the time before it get’s a lot harder to maintain. Good luck to you too and look forward to hearing how you go. Mel x
Wonderful news here , Mel! I am so happy to you feel better, that is half of all the bliss we can have in life. Feeling good with yourself is a major accomplishment. Sending a warm hug over! xx
Thanks Gudy and back at you xx
Well done Mel, you’ve done so well, especially being away. I’m so pleased you are feeling better about yourself xx
Thanks Emma xx M
Hi Mel,
thank you for sharing your journey to transforming the areas of your life you wish to make “better”. just by you sharing your experience it has made me think of things i sometimes forget and i appreciate that. wishing you a wonderful and heart warming day! Jocelyn xx
Thanks Jocelyn, yes it’s my little journey that I’m enjoying right now. Hugs to you xx
So glad you’re feeling better Mel, exercise is so empowering. I fell into an exercise rut for a while but since getting Charlie I’m forced to walk him everyday which has been great. I call him my personal trainer. You’re holiday in Sydney looked fantastic, I love it there but it’s only when I come back to Melbourne I realise how frantic it can be. xx
Oh Dogs are fantastic for that, you simply don’t have a choice. Mel xx
Looks like you had a fantastic time! And good on you — I’m still in the very beginning stages of my journey to a healthier me, and it’s hard to get on that path. You’re doing fabulously. x
Thanks Leigh-ann! Yes it took me ages to begin, it’s that moment where you can’t take talking about/thinking about it anymore that does it – well for me anyway. Good luck with your path and I’d love an update. Mel xx