6) Lose weight - attempt to be under 11 stone

I was always the skinny one in my family. Growing up, I was a total stringbean, not a bit of fat on me.

I remember when we used to have our 'fat testing' at England netball (ok sum of skinfolds but we called it fat testing). People would look at my number first and go 'what the ...' and then go 'oh its Judith'. I was kept being told to bulk up, but I just couldn't. It just wasn't me. I couldn't do it. I ate, but I exercised. A lot. But I was just skinny.

If only I'd known that knackering up your knees and having children would have been the answer to all my prayers - bulky? Somewhat! Hard to lose? Hell yeah!

I don't actually know how much I weighed before I gave birth but I had got big very quickly with my second child. At the end, they told me my bump wasn't growing so all happened quickly to get her out! Putting yourself on the scales was not the first thing on my mind. I also never weighed myself when pregnant first time round so I decided not to do the same. Big mistake as I'd at least have more of a gauge.

But I was big - pretty huge and had a lot of extra weight to lose. And breastfeeding was only shifting so much, even with a gorgeous girl who took to feeding like a duck to water. But there was a real tum, fat legs, eurgh it wasn't nice.

Day one - babies are helpful for covering large tums!

I was sensible this time and held off doing sit ups or anything strenuous until the six week check in late August (and then took my son swimming the next day!) But when September came around I decided to take action. Enough was enough. 

Ok, I'm smaller than a tractor at least....

On the 1st September I went for my first run - well I ran the first 10 mins which equated to a mile. Then I allowed myself to die a little. Well walk. It was 3.30pm and we had an impossibly hot summer. Nothing like pushing yourself. And I weighed myself. 13 stone, 5lb. We have some work to do....

At the same time, my sisters and I decided to sign ourselves up for a Race for Life. A Twilight one in October (don't do it, it's pitchblack and is likely to make you badly sprain your ankle like me). I decided to give up booze (cos pregnancy wasn't enough) and chocolate after we had a family party for Freya on 8th September until after the race. Mmm.

Well I did it, and I did the race. I wasn't that quick - about 36 mins but I got round, without stopping (well if you don't include the episode of me falling off the pavement in the pitch black within the first kilometre) which was more than a lot of the 'runners' were doing (sorry but if you have to walk every couple of hundred metres you are not a runner)

Even with broken knees I've persisted. And on some days I've near starved myself. But I wanted to lose the weight. I got into a bit of a routine - but Freya down for her morning sleep, do 300 situps. Yeah, that's the sort of me time I go for...

And where am I now? Well days before the big 40 I weighed in at 11 stone 12lb. Not the 'under 11 stone' but remember it was an 'attempt to be' and I did. I have. But I want to keep this weight off and will keep working on it. I'm not completely happy yet, maybe another half a stone. But I am much happier with where I am now - I can at least get into my skinny jeans - that can't be bad! 

Me now - still a bit to go, but a lot lost too! 

So another I think ticked off the list. If I can get to two stone lost then I'll be very happy indeed. So watch this space!