My Tone It up Jorney

hi everyone,
so as some of you may know i have started a new lifestyle regime. One of the main things i have to point out is, its not a diet. It's not a quick fix. Its designed to make you healthier, stronger, fitter and live longer.
so I have started a plan called Tone It Up or TIU for short. It is all about eating everything as fresh and natural as possible. No processed anything. no artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and everything lean, clean and green.
so that means no fried foods, no deep fried foods, nothing with sweetener and nothing with all the ingredients that you can't read and don't know what they mean. No sweets or chocolate, pizza's,chips, etc.so instead have sugar instead of sweetener, lean meat instead of red or fatty meat. lots of fruit and veg.
this might sound abit extreme to people, but it makes sense if you think about it, your body is so complex and a perfect design that even scientist can't understand, so why would you fill it with processed things that your body just can't break down and can't digest. You will feel sluggish, bloated, unhealthy and just horrible inside.
It took me a long time to purchase this plan, i found it about 2 years ago, but i just wasn't in the right mind set. i have tried every diet under the sun. weight watchers, slimming world, special k, slim fast. everything, and i have never stuck to them and now i know why, they were diets, when i got bored and went back to eating crap i would put the weight straight back on, because it wasn't a lifestyle, you weren't spouse to stick to these plans for your whole life, thats where i went so wrong.
so i took a break from it all for a year, and i was happy with my body, i really got to the point where i just didn't care anymore. I went up to a size 18/20. I felt like i needed to do something, but i just wasn't in the right mind. Then me and my boyfriend decided that next year we are going to go for a once in a lifetime opportunity and travel the west coast of america. Ever since i was a little girl i've wanted to do this.
Now you might think "why would you change for that" but i wanted to, i wanted to be able to go to america next year, in a bikini, so healthy and active, to be able to walk miles and take in the sites.
(me at my biggest) (this was when we went to harry potter world in february 2013)
so then i found Tone It Up again, via a girl called jayne becca: her instragram, she has been on my instragram for ages, and i finally started to recognize her photo's. It was TIU.
So i read the blog for about a month, subscribed to their blog, and youtube, read everything and all their recipes. I was loving it, but had no idea how to start and didn't want to loose all that money if i didn't like it. Then they released their #bikiniseries. They do it every year, its an 8 week program, to get you ready for that bikini body you have always wanted, and the best part its free. Its like an intense program to get you there.

(old blog post) (this was december 2012)
i decided to join in, it was free after all, what could go wrong? well two weeks into it, i loved it, i couldn't get enough, so i decided to buy the whole plan. I had just sold my car because there was no space for it where i live, and it made me exercise more. So i bought it with that money, and saved the rest for america obviously.
so the breakdown:
every morning when you wake up you exercise, no if's, no but's, no cant's. You do it! this is why you need the right mind set, it took me ages to get this, (like i said a whole 2 years) but now i am there and i couldn't live without it. even when i have to wake up at 5am i wake up 30mins before to get it in. Its called your booty call (great name right!) anything to get your heart rate up for 30mins. the #bikiniseries has different workouts, that are free.
you "check-in" either twitter, facebook, instragram or TIU members website. I prefer instragram, check out the hashtag #bikiniseries or #TIU for the amazing pictures that members post, all about what they've eaten or what exercise they have done (you can follow me at @MissPenelope90 or http://instagram.com/misspenelope90)
5 small meals a day of lean, clean and green. go to sleep and repeat!
Also they have pancakes, protein pancakes that is, they are absolutely amazing and you can have pancakes for tea if you want. Beautiful!
It is hard, ive had days where i just don't want to do it, i've had days where i have pressed the snooze button and had the extra 30mins sleep, but i don't give up, like i said its a lifestyle, it gets easier, now i don't think i could live without exercising, which is weird. I don't have any equipment, i don't go to the gym. I either do it all at home in my living room, or go to my mom and dads and run around their village, they live in the middle of nowhere, so when i run no one sees me, which is great for me since i am on the big side. I have worked extremely hard to get to where i am now, and i love it!
All their recipes are fantastic aswell, they are so filling and delicious, obviously i can't tell you any of them, you will have to buy the program for that, but if you do sign up to their mailing system or blog, they do recipes on there for everyone to try.
I've got so adventurous with the foods i eat, some things i hate, and some things i love, its all about experimenting, that way you won't get bored either.
My taste buds have changed so much to, for me personally i have cut out, wheat, cheese and dairy, you don't have to but i have. I also have cut out all sugars except for abit of honey and some stevia. so that fruit gives me the sugar rush i need if i crave it.
I'll give you an example, 2 weeks ago i went to mom and dad's and dad made a rhubarb crumble with the rhubarb he made out of the garden, with his homemade custard. I had about half a bowl of it, i couldn't finish it, all i tasted was a bag of sugar, like he had poured a whole pound of sugar into the mix. Now before i would have had seconds or maybe thirds.
AND my mom and dad actually said it was too bitter. BITTER? HOWW? that made me just gasp with intrigue. My taste buds have changed that much? and the answer is yes, my body can tell how much processed or sugar are in things now. how insane!
so i have been eating healthy and exercising for the past 8 weeks, but on the TIU plan for about 6. so would you like to know my stats!?
Now i couldnt find many pictures of a full length version of me (surpise) but ive done the best i can.

im 5ft 4. was a size 18/20 and start weight was 17st 1 lb.
now i am 14st 10lb (i have lost 2st 5lb) and i have lost 68.5cm everywhere.
which means ive lost 35 pounds and about 26 inches everywhere.
i am so happy with this plan and my lifestyle, even my boyfriend has said that he is so happy for me and can tell i'm alot stronger and fitter than before, i can actually run and walk now, as before i couldn't. He said he's happy that i get to live for longer now. I can fit into clothes now that were just hanging in my wardrobe, you know those clothes you keep for the "just incase" im stating to fit into those now! I don't want to be to bone skinny and that weird toned, i just want to be healthy and obviously skinner, but i want abit of muscle definition too, i have never been able to wear a bikini before, so one day i would love to do that!
I have so far left to go but im enjoying the journey.
so would you like to give this ago, read all about it here http://toneitup.com/ and i can't wait to welcome you to the team!