In response to Coco's comment:

What is a typical day exercising for you? I am so inspired by that. It's just awesome. You look SO toned and fit in that pic.

Firstly I have not been exercising at all lately, and I thought that if I put up my before and after shot that it will remind me how good I can look when I do work out. The first before shot was taken in Jan 06 and the after shot was taken in Oct 06 as part of the body blitz challenge. I reached goal in late June 06 but if I were to put up my photo it will show a slimmer but very untoned me and skin seemed to drupe more.

To never exercised that much at all, I believe I lost most of my weight using my elliptical for 30min 6 days a week. I then began with light weights 1.5kg (which I still use) and followed a simple program by Joyce Vedral. Someone mentioned her on CK and I found her book at the local library; THE 12 MINUTE TOTAL-BODY WORKOUT, which sounded perfect for me as I hate exercising for long periods of time. I worked upper body one day, lower body every other day and because I felt I needed it, ab's 6 days a week.

Jillian Micheals workouts are great as she uses weights in them.

These days (when I am exercising) I try and run on the treadmill - 30min @ 8km/h or the tried and true 30min on the elliptical. I like to do a lot of incidental exercise, walk the dog, ride my bike, use a manual mower and edger. I try and do sit-ups, pushups and squats/lunges. I try and do 10 of each between ad's on TV, I think this is what has helped me maintain. The man thinks this is very distracting so the days he is home I just do them all in one set.

How does you hubby deal with your new bod? I so often read that men don't like it once their partners get buff. How'd did yours react? Is it for better? or worse?

As for The Man, well at first he thought it was just another diet, but then I actually lost more then I had ever in the past. He wasn't impressed with my loss of bust but he had no choice unless he wants to get me fake ones and has gotton used to what they are.

He is a very paranoid man in general and so the lost of my weight did not help at all. I don't notice anything, but when we go to the shops he claims that every man's eyes are on me. I asked him last night and he say's that makes him feel good that he is the one with the "hot chick" and they are not.

As I got to goal in winter, I don't think that he really noticed it all that much as the clothes I wear were jeans and baggy old jumpers. But come summer, I went out and bought all new clothes, tight fitting and clingy...his low self esteem went off then, he thought I was trying to attract other men, I heard on a daily basis that "your going to leave me for something better." He then went on his own diet and fitness routine, hitting the work gym and buying a treadmill.

It has settled now, it's almost 12 months (wow) but he still say's things hat annoy me, I can not compliment another man looks as he thinks I want "do them" but it gets to me that obviously I could attract someone now then in the past, surely I wasn't that horrid?

I have told him countless time I did this for me, not him, not the kids and certainly not for anyone else. I like the feeling of fitness and will hopefully try and stay as buff as I can manage for the rest of my days, he has to just learn to live with it, tough titties!

So I guess his reaction's to my loss of weight was worse then I imagined, but with every bad is a good...and he has worked out this: I'm fitter, have more energy, am more flexible and there has not be one complaint in the bedroom!