Couch Potato To Wonder Woman: Months Seven, Eight And Nine

After far too long indulging in being a certified couch potato, this year I decided to get myself moving. I’ve had highs, and lows, moments of truimph and hit the dreaded plateau.

Now I’m a legitimate warrior, but not the kind you may be thinking.

What did I do?

I think it’s important to talk a little about the pressures of life. I work. A lot. I work a full time job here at Allure media, as well as host three television shows. I also tour the country speaking at events, am Mum to a teenager who communicates mostly in grunts, and I need to remember to clean my turtle’s tank and water my plants on occasion, too. Sometimes I even get to spend time with my husband.

The result of this busy lifestyle means, despite my best efforts (planning to get up an hour early to run, planning to workout in my lunch break, planning to workout between job one and job two), weekday workouts just aren’t working for me.

I think I’ve found a solution, though – I became a legit weekend warrior.

Hiking

I can’t begin to express how good hiking is. Getting away from the city with good friends, in the country – mountains or sea – is so, so good for me on every level. Physically I can handle bigger hikes now. Emotionally I find it so much easier to deal with a stressful work week if I’ve hiked on the weekend. And spiritually I’m the equivalent of a white woman who just “discovered” meditation and sage. Namaste.

Today’s #hikingadventures was a 10km 3 hour climb through the Wentworth Falls Under and Overcliff track ? #hiking #couchpotatotowonderwoman

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Jul 15, 2017 at 9:53pm PDT

Today’s #hikingadventures was a 20km 3 hour 40 minute hardcore trek on Tharawal country on the NSW South Coast. Second time I’ve done this hike, and shaved an hour and 20 off the time!

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Jul 28, 2017 at 10:49pm PDT

Today’s #hikingadventures was an 8.4km 2hr walk around La Perouse. Such a great day for it, too! #couchpotatotowonderwoman

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Aug 6, 2017 at 12:26am PDT

Today’s #hikingadventures: a 6km 3.5hr adventure through #dharugcountry in the #bluemountains ?

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Sep 10, 2017 at 1:24am PDT

Today’s #hikingadventures was a 19.6km, 5 hour 30 minute trek through #dharugcountry. I can’t feel my toes.

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Sep 29, 2017 at 11:13pm PDT

You can totally start small, and work your way up. It’s what I did, and now I’m itching to plan a multi-day hike. Or climb a proper mountain. I use the WildWalks app to find great hikes wherever I am.

Running

Behold, a story of a woman who has a difficult relationship with running.

Aaaaand I turned. Lasted a lot longer than I thought though! #zedtown is soooo much fun ??Also, a legit #couchpotatotowonderwoman activity! Almost 15km of running and walking for today.

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Jul 7, 2017 at 11:32pm PDT

Trying to see how far I can run in 30 minutes so I can make it a part of my lunch break this week. My stomach is full of party food from my niece’s first birthday so I’m like 80% nausea and 20% freaking out because City2Surf (14km run) is in a couple of weeks ?

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Jul 30, 2017 at 1:14am PDT

Behold! The face of a woman who had a really great plan, and didn’t stick to it, but is forgiving herself. STORYTIME: on Sunday night I went to Kmart and got a clothes rack for the office. Then on Monday, I took a week’s worth of clothes to work, hung them up, left everything I’d need to shower, get ready etc at the office, and made a commitment to run the 6km to work every morning. It would require me to leave home at 5am. This morning I got up, felt a little queasy, but still got my shoes on, and headed out the door. 2.6km later I’m at the closest train station to ride the rest of the way to work. What happened? A few things. I forgot my bottle of water. I didn’t eat anything beforehand (I’d normally have a banana or an egg, just something small). It was 8 degrees Celsius outside and I’m a wimp in the cold. There were a lot of stairs and I was getting disheartened how it was affecting my time. It was dark, and I was scared. A lot of excuses happened. But you know what? I can always try again. Be better prepared. So that’s what I’ll do tomorrow – maybe even this afternoon. Because you don’t have to be perfect every day, or any day. You just have to give it a go. And I still ran 2.6km further than I would have if I’d not even tried. #couchpotatotowonderwoman

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Jul 31, 2017 at 1:10pm PDT

I RAN #CITY2SURF TODAY ON FOUR HOURS SLEEP WITH A HEADACHE Okay, so there were a lot of breaks, and my “run” is more like a jog, but I did it. I never imagined myself as someone who could do something like this. I ran further than I’ve ever run before, and for longer stretches too. It’s such a mind game! Shoutout to @tegan_writes and @csimpson for being my running squad and keeping me motivated ?? #couchpotatotowonderwoman #running #deadlychoices #fitness #fitnessnoob #runnersofinstagram

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Aug 12, 2017 at 6:47pm PDT

Ahhhhhh the face of someone who bailed halfway through their first #parkrun. Still, 2.5km more than what I would have ran this morning. I need to eat something before I get started of a Saturday morning. Even a banana would have helped with flagging energy and nausea. There’s no failures, only lessons! #couchpotatotowonderwoman #running #fitnessnoob

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Sep 1, 2017 at 3:45pm PDT

Early evening walks with my boys ❤️ #couchpotatotowonderwoman #everylittlebitcounts #walking

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Sep 4, 2017 at 1:22am PDT

I haven’t been able to work out a way to incorporate my beloved Yoga or Weights sessions as much as I’d like, but for now I’ve decided not to beat myself up over it.

Some @adrienelouise yoga before bed tonight – still a bit sore from all the running on the weekend, so taking it easy tonight with some “Yoga for when you are sore”. Bonus – the video has a puppy in it! #couchpotatotowonderwoman #yoga #wonderwoman

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Jul 10, 2017 at 3:30am PDT

Quick upper body weights session done! My calves are still rocks from Zedtown on the weekend, so it’s time for some more yoga now to get them nice and stretched out. Check out my shirt! My Aunty made it ❤️??#couchpotatotowonderwoman #weights #yoga #ohyeah

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Jul 11, 2017 at 1:21am PDT

Aaaaaaand weights and @adrienelouise #yoga done for today. It’s weird how a hike can get me motivated to just keep going and do more. Early night tonight though now ? #couchpotatotowonderwoman #workout #fitnessnoob #fitness #gettingthere

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Jul 16, 2017 at 3:36am PDT

One hour @fitnessblender high intensity interval training + weights workout complete. Moody arty selfie also complete. ?????#deadlychoices

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Jul 23, 2017 at 2:01am PDT

I’m getting fitter, stronger, happier and more content. And that’s by just cramming as much activity into my weekends as I can, and eating well during the week.

Speaking of which…

What did I eat?

So as you know, I have personalised “macros” – hitting protein, healthy fats and complex carbs goals which I log in MyFitnessPal. Food like this:

Fats
• Avocado
• Nuts
• Coconut oil
• Cheese (yes!)
• Flaxseed Oil
• Dark Chocolate

Protein
• Lean red meat
• Lean poultry
• Fish
• Eggs
• Milk & Cheese

Carbs
• Rice
• Bread
• Potatoes
• Veggies
• Fruit
• Oats

Yeah okay this should not be as delicious as it is. Amping up the healthy lunches this week, starting with the tamari brown rice bowl from @urbanorchardfood – broccoli, wakame, edamame, snow pea runners, toasted sesame seeds and tamari dressing. This isn’t a sponsored post. This is just actually really nice and I was surprised ? #couchpotatotowonderwoman

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Jul 16, 2017 at 7:01pm PDT

Roast beetroot, borlotti beans, kale, baby spinach, roast and fresh tomato, apple cider vinegar dressing with black garlic and cashew aoli. Today’s lunch is healthy, but I reckon I’ll need some boiled eggs to make it filling ?

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Jul 30, 2017 at 7:34pm PDT

I’ve been pretty good at sticking to this list, but this month I made one major change – I started drinking protein shakes.

I was finding myself getting super hungry between job one and job two – and not having time for a sit-down dinner until 10pm just wasn’t working for me. Instead of stuffing my face with whatever I could find, 500ml of protein shake keeps me full for hours, and ensures I have enough nutrients in my system.

So…do you have any results?

Um, yep.

Excuse the early morning pic taken on a potato, but seriously y’all, this #couchpotatotowonderwoman thing is working for me. Update at the link in my bio!

A post shared by Rae Johnston (@raejohnston) on Oct 3, 2017 at 5:59pm PDT

I’ve lost a total of 9kg now since I started this journey. I’ve lost 14cm off my waist. I’m “healthy” now. I feel good. I don’t feel like my body is breaking down.

I feel capable. It’s actually quite an emotional experience.

What’s next?

Let’s take a look at “The Plan”

• Strength (Start lifting after a hike when the endorphins are racing)
• Flexibility (Just find the time, Rae)
• Endurance (Go on a multi-day hike!)
• Eating food that fuels me (I’ve got this mastered now, it’s great)
• Killing a man with my bare hands AKA badassery (I’m feeling pretty badass, but if I find the time to add a kickboxing class – that may just be my thing)

I’m honestly feeling really, really good right now. Even though I’m not doing what I “planned”, I’m doing what works for me and my current lifestyle. And I think that’s probably the key.

You can follow along, and join in, with #couchpotatotowonderwoman on Instagram – and feel free to join in with the people that are motivating me!

[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2016/12/couch-potato-to-wonder-woman/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2016/12/DSC9133-410×231.jpg” title=”Couch Potato To Wonder Woman”]

[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2017/02/couch-potato-to-wonder-woman-month-one/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/02/10339272_729655063742681_2462987775689307489_o-1-410×231.jpg” title=”Couch Potato To Wonder Woman: Month One”]

[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2017/03/couch-potato-to-wonder-woman-month-two/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/03/June_-RaeJohnston30-410×231.jpg” title=”Couch Potato To Wonder Woman: Month Two”]

[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2017/04/couch-potato-to-wonder-woman-month-three/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/04/Rae-Wonder-Woman-Cropped-2-410×231.jpg” title=”Couch Potato To Wonder Woman: Month Three”]

[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2017/05/couch-potato-to-wonder-woman-month-four/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/05/couch-potato-month-four-410×231.jpg” title=”Couch Potato To Wonder Woman: Month Four” excerpt=”I’ve learned more about myself this year than in any other. I’ve gone from being a couch potato, to a self-starter, to a fully fledged-fitness noob, complete with a month of “failures”.

Now I’m in month four of Couch Potato to Wonder Woman, I’m finding some balance.”]

[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2017/07/couch-potato-to-wonder-woman-months-five-and-six/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/07/cropped-rae-couch-potato-410×231.jpg” title=”Couch Potato To Wonder Woman: Months Five And Six” excerpt=”At the beginning of this year I decided to stop being a couch potato. I got got myself moving, began to love my new lifestyle, hit rock bottom and rose back up again.

It’s been a while since my last update, and for a very common reason – I’ve hit the dreaded “plateau”.”]