tailsofamermaid: Virgin Active Wellness Wednesday: Sleek Geek

I'm a couple of months into my healthy lifestyle changes now. From swimming and exercising three times a week, to including green smoothies into my diet I am definitely well on the way to some kind of routine. Slowly but surely I can see some weight dropping off...only to be put back on over the weekend. I start every Monday wracked with guilt over my weekend indulgences, belly swollen for my wheat eating sins. Does this happen to anyone else?

Anyway, since I'm currently entrenched in my 14 week Summer Transformation, I've decided to kick things up a level. Have you heard about Sleek Geek?

Founded by Digital Media exec Elan Lohmann, Sleek Geek started as a passion project and has flourished into a transformation revolution that Elan now runs full time! Read the full story of Sleek Geek here and the story of why Elan quit his successful corporate career to take it up full time here.

" We approach health and fitness from a genuinely unique angle - we don’t dictate how to eat or train, but we do assist and support you anyway we can. If you are looking for a way to achieve and stay committed to your health and fitness goals – what ever they may be – then the Sleekgeek revolution will do wonders for you! "

I've signed up for the Sleek Geek Summer Challenge. This is how it works:

Signup for our 8-week challenge and “activate” your healthy lifestyle. You select a category that you wish to compete in: Men’s Weight-loss, Women’s Weight-loss, Men’s Toning and Women’s Toning. Choose the one that suits you best.

Create your strategy to success and achieving your healthy lifestyle goals. Our philosophy is that there is no specific program that you should follow. Choose your own, or take a look at our resources and past winner’s strategies.

Get the support, motivation and accountability via real life meetups and social media. We provide everything you need to never fall of track or stray far from the path to success.

WIN! Anyone who improves their lifestyle and helps promote healthy living is automatically a winner in their own way, but just to make things interesting we have R80,000.00 in cash up for grabs! Each category winner receives R20,000.00 and we also have a whole host of other prizes for runners-up and inspirational members who took part

Did you see that? R20 000 cash prize! If that's not motivation then I don't know what is. Imagine, finally feeling comfortable on the beach AND having R20 000 to spend in Thailand?

I was going to start this past Monday, but since it was a public holiday I was rolling around in carbs and champagne. So, this coming Monday, 1 October (could there be a more perfect date? The 1st of the month, falling on a Monday!) I will be weighing, measuring and submitting and on the way to "bikini comfortable".

Here's how I'm going to do it:

- Swimming training with a coach twice a week at Virgin Active

- Training with a Flexi-Sport trainer once a week

- One run a week (I hate running so this is going to be a real challenge for me)

- One green smoothie a day

- Follow (mostly) the Paleo way of eating

- Drink endless liters of water

- Try to drink less alcohol (so hard!)

- STAY AWAY FROM WHEAT (I'm allergic to wheat but I find it almost impossible to stay away

from it)

- Move as much as I can: take the stairs, go for walks on the weekend, go for a swim when I have

extra time