12 weeks to a new me!!! Long post but would love for you to take the time to read about my Journey!!

I have been overweight since I had my oldest son nearly 7 years ago and after my ex husband told me I was fat about 4 years ago I decided to do something about it!!! I was 97kgs at my heaviest, so I just started walking. I'd put Liam in the pram and walk everywhere!! I cut out a lot of the junk I was eating and I lost about 10kilos...  After my ex left I decided I really wanted to lose the weight so over the last 31/2 years  I've tried all sorts of diets ,shakes etc!! My weight has continually yo - yo'd but I became content with the way I looked at 84 kilos. In March of this year I decided to start doing something for me with Liam starting at school and Logan at 4year old kinder so when I saw flyers where the boys have swimming lessons for aquarobics I decided  I would give it a go. I wasn't overly comfortable getting in a pool in my bathers in front of strangers but after a friend, sharon, said she was going to go along to, I felt a little more confident!!! Suzanne eased us into it but worked us hard but after that first session I was hooked and when  a second class was started I decided to join that too!! I had never done any form of paid exercise before as I have always been paranoid of what peole thought of me but  I didn't care when I was in the pool!! Suzanne made the classes fun, worked us hard, was encouraging and gave nutritional advice that inspired me to really want to lose weight and become healthy!!  I slowly lost 6 kilos and started feeling confident that I could get my weight down... With Suzanne guiding me I felt it was possible!! Then about 14 weeks ago Suzanne approached me and asked if I would be interested in doing a 12 week Health and Fitness challenge. It would involve 2 PT sessions a week, keeping a food diary, doing exercises everyday that she assigned and in return I had to promote her business through talking to people, writing testimonials on facebook and on her ad pages on true local and google maps and I would blog about it here(which I was a bit slack at) :) Of course I said yes straight away. Before starting I had to fill out a health questionnaire, write down my goals and start keeping a food diary!! On the 31st August I had my first PT session - before we got into the exercise side of things - Suzanne took all my measurements and worked out what weight I was working towards!! So at the start I weighed in at 77.4kgs and this is what I looked like:

I don't think I was really unhappy with the way I looked, but I must say have always hated having family photos because I have always been the biggest!! I was content I think but really lacked the energy to do anything with my boys!!! So to move this right along, for the past 12 weeks I have had 2 PT sessions a week (minus two weeks where I did no exercise due to illness) with Suzanne, doing various types of exercise including cardio, weights, gymstick and boxing (my favourite). Occasionally we would go to the park for a different workout and to let the boys play and for a few sessions I had a friend join in with the sessions!! Suzanne pushed me hard, encouraged me, made me believe I could do more than I thought I could, gave loads of advice both nutrtionally and about exercise, always had answers to my sometimes stupid questions and if she didn't know the answer she would find out. After weeks 4 and 8 Suzanne took measurements again!! I could feel and see the weight coming off and the benefits of that, having more energy, my boys becoming more active and involved in my sessions when they were here, the way I looked at food, the way I spoke to people about my transformation etc!! And of course the sizes of my clothes going down (At my biggest I was a size 18). That was exciting!! So last Friday was my final way in and the end of my challenge with Suzanne. I was all dressed ready for my session  (3/4 active wear pants and a t-shirt) and Suzanne walked in with her progress notes dressed up, looking lovely and informed me that there would be no training!! So we did my final measurements and you can see the results for yourself -

How different do I look?? I actually like looking at myself in the mirror!!! I have managed to get down to 65.8 kilos... My goal weight was 62 so I have a few kilos to go but I am really happy with what I have achieved so far!!! A loss of 11.6 Kilos in 12 weeks!! I am now in size small and size 12 clothes and am comfortable wearing tight fitting clothes. I have been loving all the compliments and talking about how I got here. And I love the fact that I now have knowledge about food and nutrition and exercise that i can pass on to others!! Suzanne has been absoutely amazing and I know without a doubt that if it wasn't for her guidance, support, encouragement (there were times I got really down due to measurements rising instead of falling and being sick) and her general belief in me I certainly wouldn't look this good today!!! 
So my challenge now is to lose the last 3.8kgs and then to maintain my weight which I think is definitely possible with all the knowledge I have now!! I am more conscious about what food I buy and eat and encourage my kids to eat healthier too!! I am exercising everyday and hate it if I don't. I love watching my boys now too... sometimeswhen we are going to school the boys will run, then stop and do pushups, then run again etc!! And sometimes I catch them teaching other kids exercises they have seen Suzanne teach me!! It really makes me smile!!!
So thank you Suzanne for your motivation and your belief in me. I will be eternally grateful for what you have done for not only me but my boys as well!!!!!

Thanks for staying with me and reading to the end! I will keep you updated on my progress as I continue on to my goal weight!!