Hello!

A lean, mean CrossFit machine. That's what I WILL be. Right now I'm at the start of a road (who knows how long) to transform myself from unfit to fighting fit. 

Hello and welcome to my blog. My name is Natalie. I am 36 years old, married and have an 8 month old daughter. I am moderately active, slightly overweight, and addicted to chocolate. I have just joined CrossFit Hutt Valley and am going to share my journey with you. 

My health

Although I have always tried to keep active and fit, I have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. These do not appear to be strongly linked to my weight and fitness levels, but I'm interested to find out if the CrossFit lifestyle will have an effect. 

I also suffer often from painful knees (due to lack of flexibility in my legs), tennis elbow and separated stomach muscles from my pregnancy. 

Weight and fitness

During my pregnancy I didn't gain very much weight and returned to below my pre-pregnancy weight within a few weeks. But my body shape has changed, and I no longer feel comfortable or happy in anything I wear. I always had a tummy, but now it is more pronounced, and my shoulders and upper back are becoming rounded from breastfeeding. 

Before I fell pregnant I always tried to keep active, and since my early twenties my BMI has floated around the middle to top of the healthy range, occasionally straying into the overweight category! 

Since having a baby I have struggled to commit to a fitness routine. Attending my local Active Mums class, has given me a good kick start, and buggy walks with my antenatal buddies is a good low-impact way to stay active. 

In terms of exercise  I consider myself a jack of all trades. In the past I have always tried to keep fit in lots of different ways, such as running, netball, gym work (the bog standard combination of cardio and resistance), yoga, pilates, salsa dancing and even ice skating! In-between fads I always go back to running, as it is easy, free, and I enjoy it. 

It is important to me to enjoy the exercise I do so that I stick to it and it doesn't feel like a chore. And most importantly I like to have a goal to work towards. Generally I enjoy social activities - so CrossFit seemed ideal to me. 

My goals

Ultimately, my goal is (and always has been) to be fit and healthy, but  the specific goals I have in mind are:

1. To feel comfortable and confident with my body shape

2. To enjoy getting fit and strong (and staying that way!)

3. To eat well

4. To set a good and healthy example to my daughter

The all-important statistics

I don't doubt that on my way to achieving a better level of health and fitness I'll lose a few kilos and centimetres on the way. I'm not emotionally attached to these, so I won't be sad to see them go! My current measurements are:

Weight: 65.7kg

Height: 160cm

Waist: 89cm

Hips: 100cm

Arm (bicep): 30cm

Thigh: 56cm

Thanks for reading, and hopefully you'll stay with me and offer words of encouragement and advice along the way :)