12WBT: C.O.N.F.I.D.E.N.C.E.....and some Self Belief too

WHERE has all the confidence and self-belief gone?

3 weeks ago we were all so excited (I'm looking at YOU, 12WBTers!) to start 12WBT. The anticipation was rife, the exuberance seemed to flow right out of my computer in front of me whilst trawling the forums.

We all shared our ideas about how we were planning to tackle this 'life-change' (I imagine in 20 years I'll be having a conversation with my doctor about the next 'life-change').

We shared our goals, whether they be weight-related, or fitting into that LBD that hasn't fit since 1995, or even the hard-hitting 'I want my sex life back!'.

We made commitment promises, to ourselves and anybody in our lives who we made listen to us. We went back to those same people, over and over again (and over and over and over) merely to talk ourselves into committing to the 12WBT.

Some of us went out there and joined a gym for the first time EVER, some of us went and bought a whole new workout wardrobe, knowing full well that the hottest item of clothing is never going to help your workout-face magically disappear (but, like yoursex-face you never have to actually see it so we don't worry about our workout-faces either!).

Now, at the beginning of week 3, the forums are full of people that have 'fallen off the wagon', or had a 'bad food day', or are even 'disappointed at a 1kg loss in a week'.And they are writing about it, with the intention of invoking a response from others who will tell them 'it's ok to have a bad day', and 'just pick yourself back up'.

Where have all the confident people gone from 3 weeks ago? The people who had a plan and made a commitment? Are you one of them? If so, then come back!!

It's all well and good to look for some support from the forums - but we can't MAKE you do anything. We can't haul your ass back up onto the back of that wagon, and we certainly can't be your willpower. Only YOU can do that. And YOU need to take responsibility for your actions. No point trying to justify the bad ones, you'll just waste more time and energy, which you should be putting into finding a solution instead. Get OUT of the habit of looking for pity - look in the mirror instead and be reminded of WHY you are choosing to be on this journey.

Half the challenge is learning to pick yourself back up when you fall. It is one of life's great lessons and we actually learn it at a very young age (yes, learning to walk people!!).

There's really no trick to it. So you messed up once? Twice? A few times? Oh well. Life doesn't suck, the sky isn't going to fall in, you're not a horrible person, you haven't screwed up your 12 weeks.

You are a human being. We falter.

So get some ATTITUDE about that pretty face of your's - YOU wanted to make that change 3 weeks ago, remember??

Nobody EVER RSVP's 'yes' to a pity party!

Now get out there and JFDI!

12WBT Week 2 Run-Down

WHAT a week!! I've been so so busy! Here's the wrap up:

Small Fails:

• Didn't participate in the 300 push-ups challenge
• Only exercised 1 night (still awaiting all-clear from physio...frustrating!!)
• 1 can of soft drink on Friday after I cracked it when the boyf pissed me off (men are just, such MEN!!)
• Had a piece of ice cream cake on Friday due to a workmate's birthday
• Had a chicken schnitzel focaccia on Friday for lunch because the Beef Moussaka was so foul I couldn't bear to take the leftovers for lunch.
• Just Friday in general.

Small Wins:

• I exercised one night!
• Successfully resisted meat pie and soft drink at the footy on Sunday
• Did some awesome cooking
• Discovered 9am on a Sunday is an AWESOME time to go shopping - nobody at the shops and fully stocked floor
• 0 alcoholic drinks this week
• Had a weight loss YAY!

So this week was all about the cooking - as some of you have picked up, I am HOPELESS in the kitchen!! As useless as a windscreen wiper on a submarine. Or tits on a bull, whatever your fancy.
Week 2 however, saw me tackle my insufficient cooking skills head on, with some small success! The Fish Stew was AH-MAZING (although next time I'll try it with chicken, really not a huge fan of fish) and the Spicy Lamb Meatballs with Tabouli was so yummy, the boyf made more tabouli over the weekend! The Beef Moussaka, however - sheesh. I don't think I like that much mince all at once. And there's something about eggplant that always creeps me out. In any event I forced it down and didn't go snooping around the kitchen for more food, so I consider that a WIN!

So. Exercise. We really need to become better friends. I did one lot of exercise on Tuesday night for 18 minutes, burnt 100 calories (which is crap but it's better than 0) and nearly killed me! Now, I am not supposed to be doing ANYTHING with the lower body other than walking, and even then I'm supposed to be wearing an ankle brace (n.b. if anybody knows where the hell to get a good one, feel free to yell out!) so I just feel like I'm pretty limited. Still, Tuesday I got out the 'At Home' workout, did some slow step-ups and then proceeded to do all of the upper-body and abdominal exercises. I may have done some sneaky sumo squats too.

The result - on top of 100 calories burnt, and screaming abs, I ended up with one HUGE ankle. It appears that Mr Physio knew what he was on about when he told me I was to stay away from leg exercises and cardio. So I took my voltaren without food and BAM - instant nausea. *SIGH* I love how I learn ALL of my lessons the hard way! haha

So looking forward to week 3 - we are going to have another go at the exercise (yes, more than 1 day of it this time!) AND we are also going to be a good little patient and LISTEN to Mr Physio and not do any lower-body stuff. Well until he says I can!

Good luck with week 3!

12WBT Week 1 Run-Down

So. Week 1. What do you wanna know?

 Small Fails:

• Didn't use the food plan at all, Boyf cooked for me whilst my ankle is healing.
• Had maccas for breaky on sunday as I was running late to Auskick.
• Had a meat pie at Auskick instead of waiting until I got home.
• On Weigh In Wednesday I had put on 1kg since Sunday. EEK!

Big Wins:

• I didn't have the accompanying soft drink with my meat pie! In fact, NO SOFT DRINK for the entire week 
• I Started my 'Inspiration Board' on Pinterest
• I signed up for The Age Run Melbourne and roped in a couple of girlfriends to do the 5km walk with me. (Also ordered a singlet so I can look cool when I get exercising again!)
• Have stopped weighing myself every single day (such a scales nazi!)
• Organised week 2's meals and did the shopping at 3pm on Sunday (n.b. worst time ever!)

This week has been rather frustrating having to watch everybody else start their exercise regimes, and I am not allowed to do anything yet. I am an exerciser and I just want to get out there and do something!

It has also been more of a mental challenge for me this week, getting over the hurdle of 'what's the point in starting if I can't even exercise'. But I made a small start (even if I didn't use the food plan at ALL) by cutting out the soft drink and really sitting down and assessing my goals and where I want to be in 12 weeks. Well, 11 weeks.

Even though I had some small fails at least this didn't happen to me this week:

LOLZ

Injuries - always worth a second opinion!

2 weeks ago I sprained my ankle playing netball.  Or so I thought.

Random Fact: I'm the type of person who doesn't play sport in a skirt - I play mixed netball. In shorts. The way it SHOULD be. (who plays sport in a skirt?? DEFS a man who made that rule!!)

As you can see below, 5 days after I did it, my ankle was still swollen as hell:

I took myself off to the hospital to get x-rays the night after I did it, just to be safe. Now, I've never been on crutches so it was a very, very slow journey into the emergency ward. And what greeted me? A little girl with a broken arm who had just vomited all over the floor. At that point I thought to my self 'do I really need to be x-rayed?', but the obvious answer was yes so I stayed in the queue with the smell turning my stomach. The poor little girl was white and looked like she was in shock so she clearly had it worse off than I did.

The X-rays showed nothing, however even I know that they don't show up little fractures and you have absolutely no hope of getting any diagnosis on muscle tears. So I then took myself off to a local doctor with the shabbiest house front I've ever seen. To the point my mother (who was now staying with me after 3 days of awkwardness trying to do simple things like make myself food) commented that 'are you sure this is a legit doctor?'. Turns out he was, and he sent me off for a CT scan.

I never heard from said doctor so I assumed it was all fine. I should have known better.

The bruising started coming out:

The photos don't really do it justice - the ones around my ankle went black and the discolouring on my toes was darker than this (the joys of a crappy camera in the phone hey). So at this point I was so confused as to why the doctor hadn't called.

So after thinking for a week that I'm fine (but my gut telling me otherwise), I went to see Mr Physio Man, and it turns out that Mr Physio Man thinks I have grade 2 tears in my ligaments in my left ankle. Yes, that is plural. He advised that perhaps the doctor (who is not my normal guy) has simply forgotten to chase up the report that was supposed to come with the CT Scan.

LESSON: IT IS ALWAYS WORTH A SECOND OPINION!!

So after Mr Physio Man massaged my ankle and leg last night, I was left with this:

The bruising has come out UP my leg now, and the ankle is still a little swollen after two whole weeks! He's given me exercises to do (ie. rehab) and I'm now forwarding my CT Scan report to HIM so that he can give me the good news (or bad, however you want to take it) again when I see him next week.

On the upside, Mr Physio Man is good looking which compensated for the pain he was putting me through during the massaging. And he draws mad stick figures.

Oh and the best news? He said I can go to the gym and do as MUCH upper-body exercise as I like, and if I do my exercises and there's improvement then maybe next week I can hop on a bike or cross trainer!

I HATE RUNNING.....So I signed up for a run!

Yesterday I signed up for The Age Run Melbourne in July. I have not done anything like this since they boyf and I did Run For the Kids back in, oh, I don't know, 2009?



You see, I am NOT a runner.

I hate it. I have mild asthma and there's nothing worse than a cold night, in the middle of winter, playing netball and sucking so hard on air that is freezing. Remember that ad about asthma being like a vice? That's exactly how it feels.

Running seems to me the most boring activity on the planet. You run....with no destination. Usually in a circle, like around the block and back home again. Finish where you started. What's that accomplishing if you end up back in the same place?

And I hold my shoulders funny, like too tense, and then they cramp and hurt and blah blah blah. Between the cramping and the asthma, it's just easier not to run.

But that's a quitter's attitude. And I ain't no quitter.

I have days where I feel like I have SO much energy at the gym that I will do a class and then hop on the treadmill and do 2 minute intervals for 15 minutes, JUST to make myself REALLY feel like I've done something. Am I crazy? I HATE RUNNING!

Fact is, the fitter I become, the more I feel like I can do. I feel like I CAN run. I feel like I NEED to do more than just a few weights here and there and a little bit of a cruisy old ride on the exercise bike.

And the HEALTH benefits, people! Better Health Victoria (http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Running_and_jogging) lists the benefits as

• Helps to build strong bones as it is a weight-bearing exercise
• Strengthen muscles
• Improve cardiovascular fitness
• Burn plenty of kilojoules
• Help maintain a healthy weight

Now with benefits like that, who can argue against it? And if anybody has seen Zombieland, y'all know that it's important to learn how to run.....so you can outrun those damn zombies!


 Personally interval training has always helped me work my way up to running- 2 minutes HARD OUT and then 1 minute power walk to get my breath back. I doubt I'll ever be able to just go and smash out 10km straight, but at least I can do a little bit. And that's all that matters because every little bit counts!

By the way - I've also signed up to do the 5km in the Melbourne Marathon in October. Am I crazy? I HATE RUNNING!

n.b. There are a couple of really good running websites out there for anybody looking to learn to run, whether it be for a marathon or 3km:
http://www.runnersworld.com/
http://www.runnersworldonline.com.au/

My 30th Birthday

VEGAS BABY!!

So - during March this year, the boyf and I spent a month in the US of A snowboarding, carrying on and celebrating my 30th birthday. I've always been the type of person who 'lives large', and when I set my mind to something (however crazy) there's pretty much no stopping me.

So that's why I rounded up some friends and said 'meet me in vegas'.

I celebrated at Tao nightclub, which is inside the Venetian hotel, and a good friend organised bottle service, which looks a little like this:

Yes, you pay an obscene amount of money and they bring you pretty much a fully stocked bar right to your table/lounge. I highly recommend doing it this way - we had 14 people with us so the cost reduced substantially per head.

I can honestly say I had one of THE best nights of my life - the DJ was awesome, the people I was with were awesome, I didn't get so drunk I was falling all over the place (but enough to be nicely pickled!) and the BEST part - NO HANGOVER! haha

I also had my hair blow-waved for the night and I felt so spectacular. I actually felt beautiful (and as we all know, it may be one thing to BE beautiful, but it's a whole other thing to FEEL it!):

 

All the pain and suffering of the previous 8 weeks, exercising 6 (sometimes 7) days a week and doing an amazing job of my nutrition, it had all come to fruition when I felt comfortable wearing that blue bandage dress. All I wanted to do for my 30th birthday was feel comfortable in that dress, and I achieved it. I couldn't believe it - can you tell from the smile on my face??

 

I'm using my 30th as a bit of a motivator for the next 12 weeks of the 12 Week Body Transformation, I put in the hard work then and achieved the result I wanted, so clearly if I put in the hard work this time by law of averages it should work again!

 

So to all of you out there feeling worried, scared, nervous, apprehensive, unconfident or anxious about the next 12 weeks- shove those feelings aside because I can't explain to you HOW GOOD you will feel once you reach your goals! And how much happier you will be in your own skin. You can't buy that, and nobody can give it to you on a platter.

 

Yes you will fall, yes you will have bad days, but by golly, once you learn to pick yourself back up from them you will be unstoppable.

 

Here's to the next ''Vegas"!!