Did you hear that I went to THE OLYMPICS You have now!

There are very few moments when this blogger is speechless, but as Im sat here watching the Olympics on TV, all I want to do is cry with happiness and  pride over the achievements of our athletes.  Since the opening ceremony last Friday, there has been so much to celebrate.

And yesterday evening I was there, in the Olympic Stadium on Super Saturday, where I witnessed one of the greatest sporting events in history, the night that Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah all achieved gold medals for Great Britain, helping to celebrate the most successful day in British athletics for over 100 years.

My husband and I were guests of London 2012 sponsors Coca-Cola, a thank-you gift for launching and judging the recent Sustainable Games blogging competition, the results of which I was pleased to announce on the companys website a couple of weeks ago.

Along with our corporate hosts, we were accompanied by competition winner Lucy along with winner-in-reserve, Laura, who received the news of her ticket as a last-minute surprise, when one of the other finalists had to pull out at short notice. Here we are, in high-spirits with our men-folk, in the stadium taking in the excitement of the athletics!

As well as the once-in-a-lifetime chance to watch some amazing sport, it presented a great opportunity to finally witness the background recycling infrastructure that Coca-Cola has helped to create, including the fabulous bins about which Ive waxed lyrical for what now feels like months!  As we waited to go into the stadium, I couldnt resist the chance to familiarise myself properly with these colourful beauties, which are there to help visitors easily pre-sort paper, plastic packaging, food waste - and even ponchos - from non-recyclable materials.

And to make it even easier for Olympic supporters to work out which receptacle to use, and to minimise contamination levels, the packaging was colour-coded to show its intended destination.

But as I think back to the atmosphere in the Olympic Stadium last night, I dont want to just talk about rubbish!

Goodness no! And I know many of you will now fall off your chairs to such news, but surely you wont be that surprised!  This was the Olympics and no way was I going to hang around the bins all evening!

All I really want to do now, is what I have been doing all day, and thats to relive the astounding evening that resulted in athletes dreams being turned into a reality.

An amazing evening that distinctly made British sports history!

And the evening when I realised that I was most definitely one of the luckiest women alive.

I have had many exhilarating moments since I started The Rubbish Diet, and last nights Thank You present was most definitely the highlight of my time as a blogger.  Frankly, its going to be a tough one to beat!

The atmosphere in the stadium was electric and highly charged wth emotion.

And sat in the thirteenth row, just behind the discus net, I could no longer hold back the tears of overwhelm and national pride as I watched Jessica Ennis complete the 800m stage of her gold medal Heptathlon.

With every stride she took, she was met by the tremendous cheer from thousands of spectators who knew the gold medal was already hers, a cheer that simply grew louder and louder as she closed in on the finishing line.

It was one of the greatest moments in sporting history, which left me feeling very humble at such amazing talent, yet proud to be amongst the 80,000 spectators that witnessed such an achievement, a victorious feeling for the athletes and country.

And the night just got better, with the news that Greg Rutherford had achieved another gold for Team GB in the Long Jump. The music and cheer just kept the beat of Olympic success pulsing throughout the stadium.

That pulse then became faster and faster as we watched Mo Farah put his strength and stamina to the test in the 10,000 metres!

With only three laps to go the commentator urged us to build the cheer and shout for Mo, but we didnt need encouraging at all.

We were already on our feet, waving the flags to the sound of  tremendous roars of support, straining our necks to watch the progress on the large screens when the leading athletes were out of our range of sight and applauding with all our might as Mo Farah sped towards the finishing line!

And forgive me as the tears roll down my cheeks again at that all encompassing memory of being in the right place at the right time to celebrate yet another proud moment for one of Great Britains athletes, achieving his dream and making another moment of Olympic history!

When I first entered the Olympic Park yesterday, I could not even have guessed at the excitement that would come and the feelings of pride, hope and cheer of simply being there!

London 2012, Team GB and sponsors Coca-Cola have created an amazing experience that is really out of this world.  Every element of yesterdays sporting extravaganza went like clockwork, from the efforts of the athletes, the helpfulness and humour of the Gamesmaker volunteers and the organisation of Londons transport facilities.

And the international spirit was alive and kicking too, as illustrated by this group of Belgian supporters who distracted me to record a message of support for one of their own athletes, a hockey player... delivered in French, to tell him he was king of his sport! 

 

Well, I hope thats what the message said and that they didnt take advantage of my good humour....!  Despite their wigs, they look innocent enough...er... dont they?  Then again, those cheeky smiles may prove otherwise and somewhere on YouTube there could now be a bizarre video of me repeating a potential Belgian double-entendre in my very best Anglo-French accent!

The photo of these strangers typified the atmosphere yesterday, with smiling faces everywhere I turned.

But the photograph that I love the best, is this one, which demonstrates that  it’s not just my geeky interest that prevails when it comes to recycling, it’s rather the olympic spirit of other visitors that were putting the facilities to good use. And this chap was such a good sport for letting me take this picture!

I hope LOCOG achieves its aims of processing at least 70% of its waste through recycling, composting and reuse. Through streamlining its packaging, material choices and provision of the relevant recycling processes Coca-Cola has set some solid foundations that can be replicated elsewhere. As soon as the waste data streams are available, I can’t wait to find out the relevant statistics.

But most of all, at this moment in time, I’m looking forward to more fabulous outcomes from the wonderful athletes and enjoying such great memories for many decades to come.

To witness Jessica Ennis receive her gold medal last night was a tremendous experience that I will never ever forget, and it can only be matched by watching the victory ceremonies for Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah on TV tonight and reliving the events of last night as I typed up this blogpost.

If there is one thing that I took from the experience, it is the appreciation that nurturing a passion, talent and an individuals determination with the right amount of support, coaching and direction, it really is possible to achieve something incredible.

As a mother whose real passion is to create a foundation that helps her children to achieve their own dreams, whatever they may be, it is already evident that the London 2012 Olympics will inspire them in many ways.

And as a rubbish blogger, I am now more determined than ever to aim as high as my own abilities will stretch, to encourage more goal-enthused innovators to push towards that ultimate goal of zero waste.

The tears of emotion have stopped now, temporarily.

And as for being speechless, I think Im now over that!

Clearly!

Good luck Team GB for the rest of the Games!

I know I will remember London 2012 for many decades to come!

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I did it! Now maintaining it

Okay, so I reached 139 and decided rather than fork out another $150, Id go on my own.  Im maintaining 143 give or take, and I think thats where my body is most comfortable.  Once I get back into a regular eating routine again, I seem to stabilize there.

So, Im keeping up my 16 oz vegetable/amalgam routine, and watching the fats/carbs, and staying busy.  That makes a difference.

Plus, I told the Easter bunny to take a hike, so without any chocolate tempting my lips, Im doing alright.

I was in the gardens this past weekend too with the amazing spring weather, and did a lot of work.  Last summer I would have to take a break every 10 minutes due to lightheadedness when I would do physically demanding activities.  Now I have the energy (and some extra calories) to sustain a  full afternoon of outdoor work.

Maybe my garden with be a little better maintained this year!

As an added bonus - and incentive to stay healthy - my hubby carved out an 8 x 10 patch in our side yard so we can plant a fresh vegetable garden.  Ive already mapped out the favourites, ordered the seeds, and even started a vermiculture kit to turn all my vegetable scraps (from my ritual Sunday six-8 oz veggie bag prep sessions) into worm food to sustain my garden.

Thats it - its a whole new lifestyle and chapter!  And it took a whole year (and ongoing mental reprogramming) to inculcate.

Heres to the Summer of 2010 - may it be slimming an rewarding for you too!

H.

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So how did I fare after 2 years

Well, the ultimate test of my willpower and ability to stay away from those pitfall foods and manage stress shows is evidenced in the photos.  Im at my heaviest - 214 - and am rejoining my Ottawa clinic on January 5th.

Enough is enough!

While I have tried to restart a few times, the last two years were very stressful and active.  I left my job to start my own consulting business, and also work in a very emotionally charged field of anti-human trafficking.  Suffice to say, having the luxury to spend a large amount of time for myself and on my personal health needs was not front and centre.

However, enough is enough.

I had to bag up all of my beautiful clothes that I purchased when I reached my previous goal weight of 140 lbs/Size 8/10, give them away and over the last 2 years, replenish my closet with 12, 14, 16, 18 and the odd size 20 items.  It was heart breaking.  I was just elated when I bought gorgeous clothes from JCrew - received compliments from friend, family and colleagues - but it vanquished as quickly as it came.  Within 8 months I went from a 140 to 155.  Within 10 months to 165.  Within 12 months to 180.  And now, two years later, 214.  Holy s%&^*!

No - this is not me...

Even more depressing was trying to find a dress and look that is true to me for my nieces recent wedding.  My dress was a comfortable Size 20, but as I am my own biggest critic, it looked like a Macys moomoo with glitz and glam to deflect attention from my 40DD bust and wide-load butt.

In true form, the clinic made a courtesy call prior to Christmas to let me know that I still had a 2-week credit in my file.  I told them Id be in on Monday, January 5th at 9:00 a.m..

As my children are now 14 and 9 years old, my eldest is joining me for 3x weekly exercise and fitness activities as he is a fitness enthusiast, and my 9-year old aspiring Cordon Bleu chef will be helping me prepare and stay on track with my meals.

I learned a lot of tips and tricks the last go-round, so I know what works for me in the loss department.  Now, once I regain my goal weight, I will need to stop thinking that I can be left to my own devices and get serious about that slippery slope of sugar, carbs, alcohol and portion sizes for my metabolism.

Ive lost 2.5 decades to obesity and regret.  I think this year, for every pound I need to lose, Ill need some physical and ceremonial activity to free the fat back to their home - and not feel this sense of ownership to weight, obesity and regret.

This will be a real test of mental and lifestyle shift.

Heres to 2015.  By May 13th (my 47th birthday) I WILL be back to my 140 amazing weight.  A body remembers - I remember - so this is my personal pledge and resolution.

So here we go.

Do I regret having to be back here, starting from scratch again to relive (and reinvest) in losing unwanted pounds and reclaiming my healthy natural frame?  Yes - Im also chagrined.  However, thats life and my lessons learned.

H.

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