Paleo: in the beginning!

Ron Wolf's 'The Paleo solution' is my current reading title on my kindle app for my new iPad (I'm using the blogger app for the first time too!). I'm finding it very interesting - it appeals to the scientist in me in that it is well supported by research as well as being informative and easy to read. Net result is that I've decided to give it a go! I've been low carbing on and off in my weightless attempts anyway so it shouldn't be too hard to transition to complete Paleo. I'm still wavering over yogurt and milk in my tea, and I'm not sure how far the kids will take it but there is nothing like jumping in head first, eyes closed!

Shopping was interesting to say the least! Not quite a case of going round the outside.. Rather more like dashing in and out of aisles trying to work out where all bits and pieces are. Like nut butters and coconut oil. I forgot bacon though! That's what I forget for going in without a shopping list or any kind of list at all!

The best fun was when I got home. To help in my 'preparation' for the week I decided to organise my meals for the week a bit. I started with the chicken and turkey mince.. the chicken mince became meatloaf (broccoli and cauliflower went into the food processor to make a vegie breadcrumb, eggs, some tomato sauce and garlic and then baked) and is now in the freezer ready for lunches. The turkey mince became burgers ready to cook up, an egg, more broc/cauli, some honey, shallots, and a dash of sweet chilli sauce. And then I cooked up some chicken and mango kebabs for lunch along with a nice big salad included a 1/4 of an avocado! It was a bit plain, but I thought quite yummy (kids weren't keen on cooked mango though). Will have to look into a marinade though!

I've had a bit of chocolate - some cadbury favourites made their way into my home by accident - and I've had a bit of milk in my cuppa this morning, but other then that I have eaten paleo only. I'm not feeling gassy or bloated, I feel quite good really.

I think I might enjoy this!

Taking a moment to reflect on why.

I really want to do well this round and, in the past, this has meant trying to ‘win’ an award.. after all, it is the ultimate reward to receive external accolades for your progress.   But this time is different.  I don’t ‘want’ to win, and I don’t to measure my success by how others judge my transformation.  I want to achieve success by own standard, to be proud of myself.. and to have that be enough.

I don’t know if I will put in for consideration for the finale awards this round. It depends on how my mindset is going in regards to requiring external validation.  If I feel I can be happy with my results without receiving that award.. genuinely.. then I will submit for it.  I need to be sure in my mind that I know that the award is not a measure of my success but just a bonus given to just a few out of many who deserve it!

This is really hit home after seeing so many amazing photos of the changes people have made in a short 3mths – I really don’t know how the 12wbt team could possibly choose between them (I certainly don’t envy them the task!).

A huge congratulations to all the L&S winners past and present, and to the many more who achieved fantastic results on the program but didn’t get to stand up on stage!  You all deserve medals!

Round 4 Starting Point

Argh!  So… not a pretty picture but I know that this is a true reflection of my current diet and lifestyle.  I’m not happy with where I am but I do know that losing 8kg in 12 weeks is very achievable and my after photos will be fabulous!  In 12 weeks I will be submitting my final photos.. I will be 51kg, and will be at a point where muscle definition is beginning to show.  I’m not sure about my abs, I have a lot of work to do to get to that point but I think it will be where I see the most improvement given it is the area with the most scope for change!

Goals:

• to lose 8kg or more
• to quit smoking
• to begin walking each morning as way to greet the day
• to get my running fitness back to occasional 5-10km runs
• reduce my waist measurement significantly
• and to lift heavy shit!

I will define ‘lift heavy shit’ more once I have got back to the gym, I need to work out where my weights are right now and then work out where I can get to.  

I am looking forward to this journey and already enjoying a change in diet. Watch this space people!

The path.

Sometimes we need to stop and really look at where we are. 

Right now, I am a smoker (3mths into my addiction and already quite a few failed quitting attempts) and while at first I lost some weight.. I am now back up to over 58kg and looking pretty darn close at the line between healthy and overweight BMI.

I’m not unhappy, but I’m not going anywhere or achieving anything.  I am stagnating.  Like a pond of stinky water.

It’s like I am waiting, waiting for someone else to make me change – waiting for that external motivation to come along and shift my thinking and get my arse up and moving.  But I’m waiting for something that will never happen.  Or if it does.. it will be too late because I will be having a heart attack or diagnosed with cancer.  I don’t want to be too late.

So now is the time to change.  I don’t mean change myself.  I am perfect just the way I am!  But I do need to change how I live my life.  It’s not about epiphanies, or waiting to find yourself or for fate to somehow give you a sign.  You just start.  It will feel like shit at first and it will be hard. But once you start the next step is a bit easier, and the one after that even easier.  And then you have momentum!  Hoorah! 

So it’s time to take some steps!  Exercise is out right now thanks to a bout of Bronchitis but I can do a bit of shopping and get my kitchen makeover done, plan some meals to cook up on the weekend, and do my exercise diary up for the next 12wks!

Time to get back on the move!

 

Jeni

Stepping through the wall.

We all have a comfort zone.  Our nice safe world, with nice safe walls around it.  We gaze outside those walls and see our dreams but fear stops us from stepping outside our walls.

I have learnt something through my years recovering from agoraphobia and living with a panic disorder.  The walls are just pretend.  They aren’t really there.  We create them in our minds to make us feel safe but all they do is trap us inside our safe little world.

I’ve taken a step back, retreated back into my safe little walls – given they are a bit further out now, but they are still there.  I avoid, I make excuses, I pretend I don’t want what is on the other side.  But I do want it.

Analogies aside, I know how to get where I want to be and this ‘failure’ has taught me to appreciate just how well I was doing.  Now I just need to start, regain that momentum and ‘step through the wall’.  Yes, it will take effort but with each visit to the gym, each time I step out the door and run, each shopping visit where I fill my trolley with good food, and each healthy meal I prepare, it will get easier.  It will become normal.  And the walls will disappear again!

 

Jeni

Round 4, 2012: The journey continues.

 

I’m signing up for Round 4!  The finale in Brisbane has clinched the deal, along with recipes for cake and cocktails!  The Wedding is over, and I am officially back at my borderline weight of 58kg, that’s right, I gained weight in the lead up to the wedding when I was so determined to lose it!

A bit of an introduction for those new to this round. 

I started my weight loss journey many years ago when I jumped on the scales and I realised I had hit ‘obese’.  I joined a gym and started counting calories and slowly lost the weight.. I didn’t manage to get into my healthy weight zone though.  Not until I discovered Michelle Bridges 12wbt.  The first two rounds in Sept 2010 and Feb 2011 were learning rounds but the winter of 2011 I hit my stride and dropped another 4kg to hit my goal weight of 52kg and got a mention at the finale in the top 12 of the Lean and Strong entrants.  Another two rounds after that I just hovered between 58kg and 55kg, hitting the self-sabotage button as soon as I started to get near goal.

I decided not to do round 3 this year as I figured I was just throwing my money away, but instead of achieving my goals on my own, the isolation and lack of accountability has seen me gain weight and even start smoking.

It is time to wake up and remember the JFDI lesson. 

I am quitting smoking today, and getting back to my life.  I love being healthy and fit, organised and most of all, proud of myself.

I know I can do it.  With the support of the 12wbt I can do it.

I will do it, I am doing it!

 

Jeni

Loving my Weekends!

Weekends ARE your lifestyle!

How you choose to spend your downtime is a huge part of your life.. two full days of weekend.. that’s 48 hrs, minus 16 hrs for sleep, leaving 32 hrs for QUALITY TIME!

How did you spend your quality time this weekend?

In between housework, cuddling my children, and generally lazing in my bedroom, chilling with some computer games and doing a bit of study, I’ve been working out!

3pm Saturday.. Kickboxing with Doug.  Awesome fun although I think a week of skipping gym time really hit home – I had to take a five minute breather when I started with the hot flushes!

6pm Saturday.. Nat called for an impromptu visit to Ambitionz!  The new 24hr system is up and running and we decided to check it out together.  Well she caned me.. she wanted to box but holding the mitts – I swear that just means she wanted to tell me what to do and make me work my arse off!  About 10mins later and the hot flushes were back!

8am Sunday.. SSS JuJu Jelly Legs Program on the 12wbt.  This goes down as my all time favourite workout!  My legs are caned!

I had plans of coming home and heading off to Yeppoon for some bushwalking by the beach and then coming home for a run.. but my legs are just not co-operating so a hot bath tonight is on the cards!

But last weekend.. OMG!  My Sunday was awesome!

I did the JuJu Jelly Legs SSS in the morning, then went to climb up Mt Jim Crow – amazing stuff and a great time with the boys! And then, just because I am insane (and possibly spurred on my the motivation of a Roast dinner!) I did a ‘quick’ 6.5km run – 45mins thankyou!

I am slowly learning that I don’t need to ‘train’.  I just need to live a healthy life.  Going to the gym is fun and builds my fitness but it isn’t an end to itself – however knowing that it is preparing me for a full and fun life – that makes it worthwhile!

Anything is possible!

Right now, I am standing on the precipice of my new life. 

A life without 12wbt.  A life where I am in control of my destiny. 

A life where failure is great and success is just a stepping stone.

Aside from all the emotional sentiments above, I am finding myself at the verge of a mental breakthrough – not a breakdown (I’ve been doing that for 15yrs now!), but a break through!  I’ve over-committed and I love it.

I’ve signed up to do a Cert 3/4 in fitness.  Not to get ahead in my career, in fact, I have no career goals at all really when it comes to fitness.  I just want to do it.

I want to see a change in the fitness industry – away from the quick fix mentality.  I want to start with myself.  I want to change my life through fitness and health and becoming my own Personal Trainer sounds like an awesome way to do that!

I am thinking that it will also make me a better personal trainer and I may just be able to fit some personal training for a few clients into my schedule once I am done.

So weekend warrior fitness trainer here I come!

Today’s life lessons!

Food tracking is a great way to stay focused and lose weight by monitoring and thus limiting the number of calories you consume.  It helps you to become aware of what is in the food you eat, and a good program, like Calorie King, lets you track your macronutrients as well.

Today I found out another benefit to tracking your food!  I was nervous today and so my usual food patterns went by the wayside and I ‘snacked’ my way through lunch.  That is, I had an early snack of strawberries and a muffin (200 cals), and then another snack at 11am of nuts and a cup of tea (220cals) and then at 1pm I had to go out so had half a mandarin (42cals).  By the time I had picked up the kids (3pm) I was “Hangry” (so hungry I was getting that tense angry feeling!).  Result:  a quick pop into Maccas to get a couple of nuggets turned into 470 calories consisting of eight nuggets and a few chippies.  And let’s not forget the $21 I handed over, and that the kids got another dose of that crap food!

The huge bonus is that I can look at my daily record and see quite clearly where I went wrong!  When I had that early snack, I should have had an early lunch rather then that extra snack, I’m having an early dinner anyway so it would have worked out perfectly!

The basis of losing weight is to limit calories but the idea is to make sure you do so in a way that ensures you are healthy!  It isn’t just calories, it isn’t just macronutrients, it is also about when you eat your food and matching that up to when your body needs the food!

Five to six meals a day, with a bit of protein at each meal; Carb it up early in the day, but leave it at vegies for night time carbs.  And then find a balance that suits your lifestyle – when you work, train, study – to make sure you feel satisfied and have energy when you need it!  Avoid that afternoon crash with a good solid lunch and having your afternoon snack ready to go!

Awesome August Challenge

With four weeks to go it is time to up the ante!

I’ve not been achieving my goals this round and have been very up and down.  So my new goal is “CONSISTENCY”.

Here is what I am going to do this month:

1. Wake up at 6:30am (bedtime by 10pm)
2. Pack my Lunch each weekday and go to University
3. Do my scheduled gym work even if I don’t feel like it (I’ve changed to the prep to 10km program in the lead up to my next race).
4. Take photos of what I eat and count calories
5. Suck it up and use a water bottle every day
6. Do my meal planning and shopping on Saturday
7. Stick to my budget!
8. Make sure all three kids to homework each day (and Viola for JD)
9. At least one chore per day for pocket money for kids!
10. Do AMRAP hand stands and pull-ups each night.

Now before I do that, I need to work out what to pack for lunches for work and for dinner for the rest of the week, and snacks, all based on what I have in the house. I think this is where I have fallen short:  packing lunches is not my forte! lol

First things first though.. I am putting on my yogurt maker so I at least have fresh yogurt!  I’ll go through the list and get myself ready for the rest of the week now.  I feel so much better with a plan!

OMG! It arrived!

My prize pack from the earlier Weekly Surprise – Nominate a Blogger, arrived today.  I loved this surprise - as you can obviously tell, I love to blog!  I recommended all my fellow Rocky bloggers and a couple of other favourites (listed to the right!) as well popping in a quick plug for myself! 

I’m not really one for entering these surprises as by now, I have won my fair share of prizes!  I’ve won a Polar HRM (which I gave to my sister), a George Foreman Grill – used daily) and a George Foreman Slow Cooker (which unfortunately had a fatal accident involving a hard floor and children).  But I had to enter this one.. not only a Blog based surprise but also a new prize up for grabs!

So what was the prize?  A Dermaviduals  and a Tea Tonic pack.

I hadn’t heard of either of these brands, but hey, skincare and tea.. sounds fantastic, so off I went to do some research!

Dermaviduals

This is German company (the products are made in Germany) based on skincare products which work naturally with the skin to improve it’s own ability to retain moisture and prevent aging symptoms.  It has no nasty stuff in it, and while there are a some chemical compounds that you won’t be able to pronounce it is nothing like the list you see on the average skincare product!  Check out their website for yourself to read about the science behind the products!

I received the Total Cleansing Cream – a body wash and shampoo,  DMS-Base Cream High Classic – a moisturiser, and Face Tonic – a refreshing spray.  They came packed in a blue toiletries bag which is a great size too!

So far I have been blitzing my skin with the face tonic and I have to say.. it is so nice!  I can’t wait to try the other products!

Tea Tonic

I love tea.  There is no secret there, but I struggle with herbal teas – they usually are bitter and more of a chore then a treat.  But OMG!  I’ve just sat down and enjoyed a cup of Liquorice Lovers Tea.  The first thing I noticed about the tea is that it looked more like potpourri then the dried up black flecks one normally associates with tea.  You can actually see what is in the tea!

This stuff is amazing.. hand picked, organic, Australian, and just plain good for you!

I sat down to blog with my tea brewing beside me, and decided to be brave and not add that teaspoon of honey that I normally would.  I let the tea sit in the cup for minute to cool and contemplated the gorgeous smell, hoping it would taste just the same!  And it did!  It wasn’t an overpowering taste, or a bitter one.. just a refreshing ‘flavour’ to the water.

Looking over the pack I received a teapot (one person sized) with thirteen ‘travel tins’ and a sample size of the Licorice Lover Tea.  I have a feeling I will be buying some more of this product, with the Spring Carnival Tea Cup and Saucer Gift Set high on the list of potential wedding gifts (hint! hint!).

I am very keen now to try the black tea and chocolate flavour!  This one is a milk tea and if yummy enough, may replace my morning cuppa!

 

Overall, I am totally stoked with my prize so a huge Thank You! to the 12wbt team!

What happened in Week 6..

Week 6 was my come back week after illness had me grounded in weeks 4 and 5.  Unfortunately I lost some of the ground I had gained over the first three weeks, resulting in a couple of extra kilos on the scales. 

My comeback started with an epic SSS beginning with the SSS with the Rocky group and followed up with a 13km run!  I had not run for 5 weeks (since the Rocky River Run) and then it was only 10km – and I had only run the 10ks once in prep for that!  Result:  3 days worth of DOMS so bad I couldn’t even make it down my back steps without total agony (and lots of handrail gripping).

So obviously Monday was a rest day (given I could barely walk) but Tuesday I headed to the gym.  There was no way I could do the L&S workout so I just walked on the Treadmill to loosen up and then did an upper body.  The next day was about the same but I worked in a little bit of lower body at low weights.  Thursday I hit the treadmill for 30mins and then did a decent abs workout and then ran through a full body workout on Friday.  Saturday I tortured myself with a Combat/Pump double which was awesome fun!

Sunday was SSS day and I joined the Rocky crew for Kama’s Stairmaster SSS – Torture I tell you!  It was raining and cold for start and we had to change venue to one a little less wet.. but we still struggled to find a dry patch to do the mini-circuits.  The stairs were great and although you would think they would be the hardest part, they, at least, got easier as the workout went on (reducing in the number of repetitions!).  The mini-circuits at the top though.. harder and harder!  Thankfully I forgot my weights so was able to concentrate on form and endurance.. *wink*.

I started food tracking on the weekend and counting up my calories consumed, it is not so hard to do on the weekend.  Turns out I am averaging around the 1500calorie mark.  I would like to get that a little lower.. 1300-1400 calories this week. 

It has been great just concentrating on being healthy rather then doing the lean and strong program specifically.  I do enjoy the freedom of going for a run, and cutting my workouts down to a clean 45mins!  I am itching to get back into it though I am thinking I might stick to lean and fit for a while so I can drop these KG!

Goal by week 12 weigh in.. 5kg lost!  (That’s 5 weeks away.. a kg a week!  Argh, better up that cardio! )

Organisation Week, Day 5: Irony

I should have organised my Organisation Week a bit better. 

Day 5 and I have run out of topics!

Tomorrow I will be focusing on doing my mindset lesson for the 12wbt Super Surprise.  I have some plans but need some time to focus on it.  I put pop into the office at university and do a full on video!  I will post my results here!

 

In the meantime.. Thank God It’s Friday!

Organisation Week, Day 4: When it all falls apart.

The best thing about being organised:  When things fall apart, the basics are always there. 

There is food in the freezer, your program is printed out ready to go, your gym bag has a spare pair of socks or $2 for a hire towel from the gym.

And it is so much easier when things are normal then when you are constantly in a state of change.  When your organisation is a habit you don’t have to think about when to meal plan or when to shop, or where to put your gym shoes when you get home.  You automatically throw your iPhone on charge when you get home so you have a full charge for the gym or that run, you automatically throw your gym towel and clothes in the wash when you get in and know you have a clear space ready to put them away in.

Life becomes easy.

A healthy life becomes easy.

Organisation Week, Day 3: The KISS Principle.

 

keep

It

Simple

Stupid!

The key to any change is simplicity.  If you make it hard, well, it becomes hard!  And how hard to we make things in our efforts to become perfect.. we must exercise an hour a day, at the gym, give 110% every second, do the very best exercise routine, just the right amount of cardio, just the right amount of weights, we need to have our HRM, we need to burn exactly 500cals, we have so many rules!  And if it’s not perfect.. then ‘DA..DUM’, it’s a big fat F for Failure!

The best thing we can do, is to keep our measurement of success, or rules for success, simple!  The 12wbt is a huge program and full of complexity but really, the basis is simple.  The complexity only lies in that the program needs to meet the needs of so many, so take what you need to simplify it!

Here is how I have the program simplified:

1. Print recipes and exercise plan on Sunday and put in folder/booklet.
2. Meal Plan and shop on Sunday
3. Keep my gym bag with gear ready to go
4. Get to the gym everyday.

That is it. 

That is all I have to do to succeed.  I don’t need to use all the recipes, I don’t need to follow Mish’s plan exactly, but I do need to meal plan from recipes that I know the calories for!  I don’t need to think about my exercise program.. I just need to print it out, work out where I am doing it, and then just do it.  I also don’t need to go crazy if I choose a class for a day, or skip a day from illness.. just jump back in where I am.

Over-thinking, over-analysing, over-organising is just as dangerous and under doing any of those things!  Work out the basics that you need to do.  Keep it simple and just do it!

Organisation Week, Day 2: Be ready to workout!

Organisation is really all about beating your excuses before they have a chance to take hold.  The most common excuses not to exercise are that we don’t have time, I don’t know what to do, my gym clothes are dirty, my phone isn’t charged, I can’t find my socks, etc.

How do we beat these? The 12wbt is all about planning and that is the first thing.. schedule in your workouts!  It can be hard at first, particularly when you find you have to swap and change workout times to figure out which time is best.  After over a year I can tell you now, afternoon exercise is my friend.  Although Mish recommends the mornings, it just doesn’t work for everyone and consistency is the most important thing!

The next thing – set your goals and plan your workout types around this, lean and strong or lean and fit, with your SSS.  You have your program so make sure you have it printed it and available!   If you can use the iPhone functionality that is great, but if you are like and have crap reception at the gym, print it out in A5 at the start of the week and glue it into a notebook.  This makes it easy to put in your weights and times each day and track your progress! You can also easily flick back through and see what weights you used last time you did a certain exercise.

And last but not least: Keep your gym clothes and gear organised and ready to go!  I have three gym pants and wash both the kids uniforms and my gym gear on Wednesday and Sundays.  I have my gym ‘uniform’ basic so I just grab pants, bra, top, and socks which I keep folded on one shelf in my cupboard.  I have a major Lorna Jane addiction at the moment so I am getting quite a collection!

I cycle my towels on Wednesday and Sundays as well, making sure my gym bag is always ready to go!  No excuses! 

I have a tub under my bed where I keep my gear together – tape measure, running belt, Halo headphones, yoga mat and blocks, weights, and more! 

It comes down to getting in the habit of finishing something by making sure it is ready to go next time.  When you finish a workout, make sure you leave everything ready to go for the next one!

Organisation Week, Day 1: Meal Planning!

Like it or not, there is no getting around it!  Meal planning is essential to a healthy lifestyle!  Hopefully it will become second nature, but while in the process of change – make yourself sit down and do it! 

Breakfast should be easy.  Although Mish’s 12wbt offers a huge variety of breakfasts and I urge you to try as many as possible, it is much simpler to just pick a couple of easy favourites and stick with them. You will soon find that some make it easy to hang on to lunch time with just a small snack, and others will need a larger snack or early lunch!  I find anything with an egg is a good thing!

Snacks are hard to plan for as often it will depend on how you feel.. sometimes a boiled egg, sometimes a tomato with a pinch of salt and pepper, but usually I have a yogurt, Body-wise bar, or piece of fruit as staples.

Lunches should be a mix of leftovers and easy to make wraps.  Making up a couple of containers with salad in them means you can have an easy side for lunch and a tin of tuna or leftover meat as another option as well.

Dinners should be easy to cook and throw in at least one ‘batch’ recipe a week so you can put in some leftovers.  This means that at least 2 meals (one dinner, one lunch) can be leftovers and you can have variety!  It also means that if you get caught working late and can’t cook, you can just throw something in the microwave from the freezer!

Although the Michelle Bridges 12wbt comes with a meal plan and shopping list already prepped (for 2 adults), it is essential to start setting aside time now so you can get the habit of meal planning ingrained in your lifestyle.  It should become second nature to choose your dinners each week from a host of favourites, to have a pattern to packing your lunches based on what is available at work or home and which days you are going to be where!  It also saves you a shitload of money on takeout and wasted food as well!

My organisation tip of the day.. print out Michelle’s weekly meal planner and fill in your breakfast, lunches, and dinners, as well as some snack options.  Print off your recipes onto A5 paper (or two pages per A4) so they are a nice size as well as saving paper and store them in a folder in plastic sleeves.  Then write up your shopping list, go shopping, and do up as much prep as you can on the weekend including a batch meal!

Remember the seven Ps:

Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance!

On top of the world!

I finally feel normal again!  And tomorrow I shall be backing that up with some exercise! 

Being sick, I’ve had time to really stop and think.  Some days I missed the exercise, others – not so much!  But the thing that stood out was how quickly my nutrition went haywire.  It started with just a few ‘extras’ and ended up with KFC and Dominos featuring as major contributors!

It really brings home how important organisation is.  If I plan my food for the week it is easy… I just do what I have written down.  But if not, the doors – and my mouth - are wide open!  I don’t get out the right meat to defrost, things go ‘off’ in the fridge (though my version of ‘off’ may be much sooner then others!), and the excuses pile up on top of each other.

So this week I dedicate to organisation!  Each day I will post about how I am organising my life to make nutrition and exercise easy!

Never again.

Never again shall I see a gain on the scales on Weigh-in Wednesday.

 

#Justsaying.

Stars and Comets

In the darkness, it is the stars that give us hope.  And just as I was feeling like a big bag of poop because I was sick and couldn’t exercise and actually gained weight… along come my shining star of hope.   

I did my measurements a little late this week but I eventually got round to them thinking the results will not be impressive.  I wish I had of done them sooner!  I lost 7cm from my waist, and gained biceps!  I lost some off my thighs as well as from my back/chest.  So happy! 

I can see why measurements are done every four weeks.  That four week hump is a toughie, motivation wanes, the kg can seem unimpressive in light of the massive amounts still to go, but centimetres give us hope.  They are not quite as fickle as those scales which can jump around 3kg depending on water retention, and how long since you last took a number two!

I feel re-energised by my results… ready to take on the next four weeks!

Now I need to get back into some exercise, slowly but surely, as I recover from bronchitis.  I am still coughing, fatigued, and suffering muscular aches, but the fog over my brain has lifted, the sinus’ are beginning to clear, and I am managing to get some decent hours of sleep in!

Comets however are another matter!  Comets are astronomical events that only come around once in a lifetime and can either breeze past with spectacular results, or threaten to crash into us and destroy the world.

And so I sit here trying to write my first paper – an event that I thought would breeze past with a tail of spectacular colours displaying my awesomeness.. but instead is threatening to shatter my world of academic confidence.  I am unmotivated, uninspired, and un.. well un-everything.

As I sit here pondering how I will manage to get this task completed I think about the lessons I have learned from 12wbt. JFDI.  I don’t need to be motivated, I just need to be consistent.  And just because I haven’t been consistent, doesn’t mean that I cannot start now.  Today.  Right this very minute!

I shall leave you all now, as I go to shoot out a counter missile to knock my comet off course for a direct hit, in hope that it will graze past my world with a display of colours and lights that will be visible to the entire universe!

Starting to re-surface

Bronchitis.  It is not pretty and has knocked me for six!

I’m officially taking this week off exercise.  I just can’t imagine doing much of anything useful, my body aches, my bones and joints ache, my head aches, my lungs ache.  And that is now that I am starting to feel a bit more human!

I have a doctor’s appointment on Friday (was meant to be a pap smear and general check-up) which will let me know if I am clear to start back with my exercise in time to do a fitness test.

I am really disappointed.  The second fitness test is usually a time for celebrating the successes of these first four weeks.  Instead I will only be celebrating the fact that I can manage to get out of bed and maybe even make it to the gym for a workout!

I hope this doesn’t set me back too far from my goals.  I will be going through my pre-season tasks again quickly and re-evaluating what I will be able to achieve knowing that this virus might affect my lungs for a while yet.

For now, I need to give my body the best chance of a full and quick recovery with lots of rest, and good healthy clean eating!

In sickness and in health.

It doesn’t matter how well you plan, the unexpected will happen.  And that includes sickness.  I’ve come down with a nasty nasty chest infection.  I went down on Saturday afternoon with the fever peaking that night.  Sunday was spent asleep and feverish, and today I am tired, worn out, coughing, headachy and sore all over.

How do healthy people cope with sickness?  I missed my planning day, I didn’t have the energy to cook, I couldn’t stomach a full meal but needed nutrients and fuel to keep my body going.  Normally when sick I turn to convenience foods.. icecream is a favourite as it soothes my throat, chocolate provides a quick energy hit, takeout is easy option as I recover. 

But not this time.  Because I was already planning and am now organised, I had soups and frozen meals ready to go.  I have kept water beside my bed so I could stay hydrated.  I was ready for the unexpected!

I need to cut back my training but my nutrition is clean.  Even though I have not kept track of calories so I can’t say if I went over or under calories.. I listened to my body and ate when hungry, kept my hydration levels up, and rested.

And the best thing is that I didn’t even have to think about it.  There was no choice or decision making involved as everything was there ready.  Hubby reheated my soups as they were there and easy, my water was available, and even my snacks were already prepared! 

Organisation really is the key.  If you are organised, you can beat anything!

What a difference a day makes!

So you might remember yesterday’s post.. the one about having a down day, feeling flat, etc.  And remember the one from just before that.. about riding the wave?   Well, I need to take my own advice!

The wave is coming back up and I am left feeling fantastic!  I went to bed at a decent time last night, woke up and get dressed and ready for the day by 8am and off I went for the day.  I was productive at home, getting a bit of housework done this morning, and at uni where I was able to get some much needed lab work done.  I even got through a few tasks I have been procrastinating about!

Today I am on top of the world and conquering those nasty thoughts that tell me to eat things that make me feel bad and to skip my gym time.  I know that eating well and going to the gym makes me feel fantastic, even when I don’t to go.  That negative voice inside me doesn’t like that at all – feeling fantastic makes that negative voice go quieter and one day, it will go away for good.

I will remember never to listen to that negative voice again.  It is my choice and just because I don’t feel it, or I feel lazy or a bit flat.. I can still choose to go.  I don’t have to listen to my fear.  It won’t stress me out, it won’t drive me crazy, it won’t be ‘too much’.  In fact, the opposite will happen.. choosing to do what I know I want to do will make me stronger, less stressed, happier and capable of doing even more.  That is because what I want is what is best for me.. good health, the right way!

I know the wave will go back down again, that I will flat, anxious, and blah and not want to go to gym while making myself feel worse by feeding myself crappy foods.  But this time I am more aware of it, and I have a plan.. no more excuses!

Mental Health Day

I’m having one of those days.  I am tired, anxious, flat, depressed, headachy, nauseous, sick.

I just feel like so blah. 

I’ve eaten crap food, stayed up late, skipped gym.

I’ve also stayed home instead of going to uni and working, and relying on hubby (who is on holidays) to pick up the kids from school.

 

I need to break the cycle.  I need water, sunshine and rest. 

Surf’s up guys! It’s time to ride that wave!

It is week 3 already!  And the one thing you notice on the forums this week is that many people hit a slump!  The thrill of starting has worn off, the reality of how long this will take is sinking in, and old habits are starting to creep back in.

It takes 28 days, or 4 weeks, to change your habits and well, week 3 is ‘hump’ week!  We are nearly at the top of that wave, it is time to stand up and ride it, or slip back and wait for the next wave.

For those of you who, like me, struggle this week more so then others, it is time to go back and watch that mindset lesson on riding the wave!  Remember that this feeling of apathy, fatigue, fear, or whatever it is holding you back.. it will pass!  Not being motivated, not ‘feeling like it’, not being the right time.. they are not reasons to give up!  They are the reasons you need to hang in there, to keep going! 

Acknowledge where you finding difficulty but find solutions!  I am finding apathy a huge problem for me and so I am looking for ways to fix it.  My affirmation is a great start – it helps to keep me focused.  As does remembering that someone, out there, is giving it their all and will get results and I don’t want to be the one, in twelve weeks time, regretting that I didn’t get my act together this week.

Know what you need to do and do it. It isn’t hard to stick to the program once you work out what you need to do.  I need to print off my exercise plan each week and stick it into my book, I need to go to the gym each day (even when I don’t feel like it).  I need to plan my meals each week, do up the shopping list, make up some meals in advance, and prepare snacks the day before.  These are now my goals.  These are my baby steps!

I’m focusing on the ‘doing’ with a clear knowledge of where that doing is taking me!  When your goal seems far away, when motivation is a memory, it is time to just focus on what is right in front of you – your next baby step!  JFDI!

2 weeks down..

That is right, two weeks done and dusted and I am still in the game. First week was a bit hodge podge with exercise with a PT session on Wednesday throwing out the rest of the week, but I still did the SSS.  This week has been squeaky clean exercise wise – super proud of myself for sticking to it.

I have done okay with sleep up until last night when I got the ‘stay up till 4am’ bug happening.  I’m avoiding my uni work for some reason and I just need to JFDI – starting as soon as I have done this post!

Nutrition has been an issue.  Not so much because I am eating bad food, but rather that I have not been able to plan properly this week due to budgeting costs so my lunches and snacks have been random. 

I am still unsure of exactly how many calories I should be eating.  Part of me says I should do 1200 while trying to lose weight, another part says I need to build muscle so should be doing closer to 1800 and the other part says, 1500 is a reasonable deficit and more achievable.  I am thinking that 1500 is a happy compromise!

Activity wise, week 2 bought forth the Inspiration Board challenge which I have to admit to loving!  I was able to have a go at a few things in Photoshop that I would never have been able to otherwise!  So here is the result:

I am pretty happy that I have got my goals on there, and that my affirmation is there in plain sight.  There is plenty of room to add more as well which is great!  What is also great is that I didn’t go into it thinking ‘I want to win the challenge’ but rather just enjoyed the challenge for what it was!

Results wise, I had a nice loss this week with a half a kilo gone on the Tuesday (Wednesday morning I missed weigh-in) so I am not expecting a loss at all this coming week.  Mind you, I would be stoked if I can keep up with 500g each week for a 2kg total in the first four weeks (and then 2kg in next four weeks, and 4kg in last four weeks for a total of 8kg!).  I get so excited just at the thought of the scales hitting under 50kg.  That would be AMAZING! 

But better still is the thought of getting back to the shape and size I am in my head. I still see myself as skinny and find photos of myself quite shocking!  But soon reality and fantasy will meet and I shall be live my dream!

 

Jeni

The best laid plans..

This week I have been trialling an iPhone app called “DietTracker”. 

I downloaded the free version as it seemed ideal to me.. take pictures of what you eat throughout the day, add the calorie estimates when you get home and can jump on Calorie King for five minutes! 

Half way through the day and I had to pay for the full version ($1.99) because the free version only records three meals (morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea in my case) and is therefore pretty useless!

I love that it automatically assigns a meal as ‘breakfast’, ‘morning snack’, ‘lunch’, etc and you can manually enter a meal you skipped or add notes on other items you had eaten.  '

It keeps a tally of your calories as you go (provided you enter them) so a quick estimate is good. It is also forcing me to remember the calorie value for foods I eat as well! 

I have noticed, over the past few days of using it, that I am a heavy night time eater.  Possibly because I have not been keeping ‘normal’ hours.  I’ve been staying up quite late at night which is hindering my progress.

Time to make a choice.  I need to choose to go to bed early and wake up early and not accept any other option. 

So that is how it will be from now onwards!

Why I will succeed.

1. I know where I am going!  I have set my goals and although they are broad, they are all strength and flexibility based.  They include: a handstand, butterfly stretch, the splits, pull-ups, bench-press and squat 40kg and 50kg respectively, full sit-up, sub 60min 10km and I’m thinking I need to put ninja jumps in there too!  Even my 10k run is a strength based exercise as I am working on improving my speed while maintaining my endurance!.

2. I’ve looked at where I’ve been.  The past holds many clues for us.  Particularly what excuses and beliefs have been blocking our progress.  Past behavior is the biggest predictor of future behavior so you need to know what you are up against and PLAN for it.  There is no point outlying our excuses if we don’t come up with an effective plan to combat them!  This is not a once of exercise either.  You need to do this regularly because you will make mistakes and you need to see what went wrong!

Example:  I’m too busy and don’t have time.  To combat this excuse I will set aside and hour each Sunday for planning, and 10mins each morning to go over my day and set my priorities.  I will make nutrition and exercise a priority.

3. I’ve made my commitment.  I believe this is the hardest one.  It is easy enough to talk the talk.  You can say you can do something.  It’s easy.  But sit and close your eyes, imagine yourself doing exactly what you are saying you are going to do.  Imagine those worst case scenarios when you just don’t want to wake up, when you need to compromise on something, or when you need to ask for help.  You need to make sure you are fully aware of what you are committing to.  Write it down!  Write down where the line is as well.  Write down that you will not go to the gym if you have a fever, if the kids are particularly sick (not just a cold), or if you are injured, have a an assignment due the next day.  This will stop you from feeling like a failure if you can’t do something.  Similarly, plan for a treat meal!

And now you really need to commit, heart and soul, to it.  Every single day for the rest of the 12 weeks.  Every day you need to wake up and see that goal, see your commitment, stay focused. 

Some other goals...

Not everyday will be perfect.

But everyday is an opportunity to learn.

Last night I crashed and burned in a serious way.  I had it worked out in my head.  It started with ‘I will order the good choice pizza’, and then as I ordered I ‘had’ to order a regular pizza to get in the voucher, but the regular pizza turned into the ‘prawn, bacon, and feta’ pizza but I was only going to have one slice.

Until the pizza turned up an hour later and I was so hungry! 

I don’t know how many calories I ate, too many.  And I thought it was funny enough to comment on a Facebook group of former L&S participants.  Thinking I would get the usual ‘haha’ response that I get from people when I fail, the normal ‘oh yes, you’re not perfect, of course you failed’ type response.  But no.  These wonderful people were disappointed for me, they encouraged me to stop and to get back on track.

I see now I had just lost my way, jumped over onto the ‘second best is okay’ path that I am used to.  I was reminded that I am not aiming for second best.  I am aiming for the best me that I can be.

I was also reminded that I am not in this alone.  That people do care if I succeed or fail.  When I let myself down, I am also letting down other people.  I’ve never felt that before.  It’s a nice feeling!

 

Jeni

Keep steering the ship to stay on course!

You know where you want to be and you’re taking steps to get there!  Of course you will reach your goal!  Right?

Not always!  Sometimes the winds of life can set ship of course, just by the slightest amount but this can mean we end up so far away from reaching our goal!  We still might end up in a nice place, but then, we might not!

Don’t get me wrong, there is no problem with changing our goals as we get closer and realise the potential options on the horizon.. goals we didn’t even know were possible!

But we don’t want to go off course by accident and end up missing any goals!

Or even get so caught up between two goals that we fall short of both!

There are two main points I want to make:

1.  You need to make sure the path you are on is taking you toward your goal and that you are not wasting energy wobbling between two choices; and

2.  You need to make sure you stay on that path by keeping regular tabs on where you are heading by checking the landmarks along the way!

An example?

I am seeing a lot of Lean and Strong participants trying to do running, training for a half-marathons, or just jumping on the treadmill for hours because they think they should!  Now, everyone is different but really.. why do lean and strong and cardio when you could just do lean and fit and get exactly the same result without putting so much pressure on yourself? to carry on the ship analogy, you are zig-zaging between two paths so that you travel four times the distance to end up not hitting either of your goals.  And to then try and do that on restricted calorie intake? Your ship is going to run out of steam before you even get to goal!  Choose a goal, choose your course and go with it. It is only three months!  Why not commit to one goal for this three months and see what can achieve? 

example number 2…

We weigh-in each week.  Why?  To make sure we are on course!  For the lean and stronger’s, the monthly measurements are a much better indication but you know what?  You can do them more often provided you are aware of potential fluctuation in bloating and fluid retention, particularly in the tummy area!

But beyond measurements we also need to review our diet and exercise habits for the week.  I’ve noticed in the cold weather I am turning to hot drinks more and more!  Usually tea, hot chocolates, or Caro!  Those 45cal Choc’o’Lait drinks are great, but I had gotten into the habit of adding milk so I am now adding a touch of cold water instead.. tastes just as good!  My tea and caro however… 80-100ml of milk each time is not good!  This is something I need to keep track of.

I haven’t been keeping a proper food diary either which I had planned to do.  So I will start that up now.  Even if I just write down what I had and not stress about calories!

 

Jeni

Rocky River Run 10km 2012

What better way to spend the eve of the Michelle Bridges 12wbt then at the annual Rocky River Run!
I am not a morning person, and my training runs are always in the afternoon.  Not that there were many training runs!  Last Sunday was my first 10k in over a year, and my last race was way back in September of last year!
I’ve been doing a bit of running lately, just not actual training.  Luckily though, some of that running has been doing intervals on the treadmill!  It seems to have paid off though with my general speed greatly improved!  My last 5k race I scraped in under 30mins – just!  And now here I am waiting to find out if I managed to crack the 1hr for the 10k.  But back to the beginning of the story.. back to 6:30 am when I woke up this morning.
I did not wake up feeling 100%.   I managed a cuppa tea and about half a bowl of oats with honey but honestly, I was so nervous my tummy was doing strange things!   But I was pumped and ready to go.  Hubby took the shot above while we were waiting for race start.. chewing my bottom lip! 
I saw Kama and said hello, and then saw Camilla and Mel up on the starting line.  We were chatting away when suddenly the start siren went!  Bit of a jumpy start!  I had to fiddle with my phone to try and get it started – didn’t work!  I lost Camilla and Mel in the starting rush so after 5mins I pulled out my phone again to see if I could get my music going.. and off I went!  
I was way up the back of the pack at this stage and feeling a bit rough.  I held it together with my music keeping me focused on pushing myself.  I spotted someone ahead and just aimed for that shirt with the goal of overtaking.  I could see the main pack way ahead.. I was going to catch them!  About 3km in I hit my stride, my Runkeeper announced I doing 10km/hr as my pace and I was stoked, I might just make 1hr!  The battle at this stage was ‘don’t wear yourself out’ ‘you need fuel for the end’, ‘don’t push yourself too hard’.. but I was doing okay.  I was pushing my speed but it was maintainable.  Runkeeper kept me at a steady pace between 9.5 and 10.5km/hr for the rest of the race. 
The last 3k was hard.  It was getting harder and harder to pass people, except for those who were starting to drop to a walk.  There were a few moments when I was moved to tears.. between the music and the hormones… the song ‘I choose’ by Stan Walker came on and at that moment.. it meant a lot!  I chose to push through, for me.  Because I need to love who I am, and I deserve to be the best I can be.
So I just kept running, and running, and running.  My feet just kept moving.
The last km had a lot of uphill, and we had the 2km group merging in with us, along with the a few bottlenecks – the first being crossing the railway bridge (1m wide) and I got stuck behind a guy with pram. 
It’s insane though.. I have never crossed that bridge before.  It fills me with fear and dread – anxiety, images of my children drowning, panic attacks – yup, I have a bridge phobia.  But you know what.. I didn’t even think about.. I was running and that was all that mattered!
I made it to the end though.. smiling when I realised my hubby was there to take a picture.  This was the first race that I had family there for and I appreciate it and love them all the more for it!

So here I am, waiting and waiting for my time.  My PB for a 10k is 1:15mins but that was just a training run.  So this time will be my official first Race PB for 10k.
Updated with my Time:   1:01:55 (place 62 in womens 10k)

Ramblings: Rewards and Punishment

There is a hard way and an easy way to do everything.  You wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that the easy way would be, well, easy!  We are, as humans, always looking for ways to conserve our energy (read: be lazy!) so it seems logical that the easy way would be our first choice.  I’m no expert, but I’ve been thinking so here are my ramblings….

The reality is, the human psyche is not built to look for easy, but rather for reward.   This is why we kill ourselves with crap food.  Being fat is not easy, being a smoker is not easy, being late for work every day is not easy, having a messy house is not easy!  But what they all have in common is the reward, the punishment, and an element of effort!

It all comes down to effort verses reward and or punishment.  Chocolate is a reward, and weight loss is a reward.  Obesity is not pleasant, and even indigestion and fatigue are not very pleasant.  We see an immediate reward in chocolate.  We get an instant taste and sugar pleasure buzz!  It doesn’t matter that an hour later we get indigestion.. it is a delayed punishment, it doesn’t matter that we will continue to get fat, increase our risks of infertility, diabetes and goodness knows how many other diseases.  Our brains are designed so that instant gratification outweighs everything – even a slow horrible death from lung cancer, or heart attack in 20yrs time.

Interestingly, if there is an instant punishment (or even slightly delayed severe punishment) for food we develop food aversions quite quickly and easily!  Ever eaten something and vomited not long after?  Even if your mind knows the two are not connected, it can take years to consume the food again!  It’s a great adaptation from an evolutionary perspective.. it’s a basic instinct that stops us from eating food that makes us sick!  I can’t eat bananas after eating one that was not quite ripe and I ended up in bed for hours in agony with heartburn.  Even the smell of a banana turns my stomach!  I still love the taste of them, I just can’t think about eating them!

These are not things that are happening on a conscious level,  and this same psychology is what we see in eating disorders to differing extents.   However, if we are aware of these we can work them to our advantage!  We just need to swap them around!  We need to make good healthy food rewarding – through taste, presentation, and ‘fake it till you make it’ good positive attitude to healthy food.  We also need to consciously make ourselves feel off-put by crap food, notice the lack of taste, that oversweet sickly taste of chocolate, or the over salty chemical taste, or the super rich thick heavy taste of cream based sauces.  Think of the full gross feeling as it hits your stomach and that horrible heaviness that comes from eating too much.  I am sure you get what I mean anyway!

Really think about why you are choosing something.. is it for the sugar or salt hit?  is it just habit?  Does it really taste good?  Does it really make you feel good?  Are you letting your Inner Labrador – the Pavlovian dog responding automatically to food rewards – control your life?

Jeni

Measure Up: PS-Task 8

It’s the final countdown!

The last task is upon us.  The reality check. 

It’s time to get out the camera, the scales and the tape measure and see just where we are at right now!

This is NOT where we will be in twelve weeks.  Trust in yourself and today won’t be as scary as we think.  If you have fully committed yourself to the program you NEED to trust that you will see results.. that you will not see these numbers again.

I won’t bore you with the actual measurements, nor even a photo just yet - I want to keep my transformation a secret!  Make it all the more exciting to reveal the finished product!

The programs became available today as well so I have done some shopping and some prep work today.  As per the wonderful picture above, I have my pirate  pencil case to hold my food and exercise diaries.  I also bought a magnetic white board for my fridge to keep track of our meal plan and some pretty coloured markers too!

I feel ready to go!

Let’s do this!

The Fitness Test: PS-Task 7

How can this test not be fun?  I have to admit that the 1km time trial has been my downfall many a round.  I hate it. Maybe because I have this need to run 1km first to warm-up, then the 1km time trial, and my walk/jog 1km home again.

This round I took the option to use the rower machine at 50% for my 1km time trial.  This means I can do my test at the gym – no running to organise, no setting crap up at home and the self-consciousness of my family being aware of what I am doing (or worse, feeling like I am doing it in secret).  I already feel 100% better about my ability to do all the fitness tests throughout the round!

Results:

1km time trail (rower 50%) 4mins 49secs (High end of intermediate)

Wall sit: 28secs (low end of beginner)

Push-ups 1min:  Toes: 8  Knees: 16 (24 total = Intermediate)

Abs: Stage one (wrist to knee achieved = beginner)

Flex: 0cm average (intermediate)

The cardio I am fine with.. I am on the border of intermediate and advanced. The push-ups, I would be advanced if I did them all on my knees so I am happy with that.  Abs is an improvement on my previous big fat 0’s!  And my flex has gone down a bit.  But what the hell happened on my wall sit!  I can only say that I did it straight after the rower and I was because very cautious to make sure my legs were at right angles (maybe too cautious?) and felt like I was slipping down the wall.  I’ve never had a problem making it 1min before, and have done a 1:38 so goodness knows!  I will repeat this one tomorrow on a different wall.

For the important stuff, I am on on the high end of intermediate so I am confident going in for advanced again.  So glad it is done and dusted and very happy with the change in program that resulted in the fitness being shifted to the pre-season tasks!

Jeni

Organisation: PS-Task 6

This task seems so easy.. schedule in your exercise, schedule in your meal times, schedule in your shopping time.  How hard can that be! 

For most people there are a lot of variables in life and we have to prioritise.  And that is where the issues lie.  This task is about taking our health and fitness and shifting its priority level right up there into the ‘not-negotiable’ zone.. the same zone as showering, brushing your teeth and kissing your kids goodnight. 

Really, it doesn’t matter if you have to change the times, or move your schedule around during the round.  Life happens and we are new to this.. we don’t know enough to make a perfect decision so let go of the perfect.  Get those essential elements.. 1hr a day, 6 days a week to exercise,  5-6 meals a day with 3/4 hrs between them, and a set time to meal plan, do your shopping list and get that shopping!  Plan time for unpacking your groceries, storing things so they last and are easily accessible – chop that celery into edible portions, make sure your spinach is in a sealed container with a paper towel to absorb moisture, divvy up nuts into portions, etc.

And the most essential.. plan for a cook-up of some of the meals.  You will notice that some meals serve 6 – these are great for cooking up in advance and popping into microwave safe or oven proof containers to heat up on lazy nights!

As an example, I cooked up Alison’s Penang Chicken and separated it out into plastic containers.  All I need to do is steam up the vegies (and rice if I want it) and heat up the meal in the microwave or in a pot.  Easy Peasy!

The big thing here is to remember that this is an ongoing task.  It doesn’t end here!  You  need to check your diary every week and plan around red flags or any changes in your schedule.  At night before you go to bed, check your diary to make sure everything will run smoothly, lay out your gym clothes, pack your gym bag – no excuses is a lot easier if you plan ahead!

Jeni

P-S in Review 1

So last Sunday I jumped in and signed up for sixth round of 12wbt.  The week has been great..

I started by getting out of the house and going for a run – 7km – that same afternoon!  My legs were killer sore the next day so I headed into the gym for an upper body workout even though I had a major case of the CBFs.  Tuesday I am quite proud of!  I was feeling a bit off colour, had a bad case of protein gas and abDOM’s and almost talked myself out of going.  I was damn close to walking out as I put my bag in my locker but I pulled out the 10min rule.  Of course, two minutes into my cardio workout and I am rocking it!  It was a shortish session, about half an hour or so, but I did my cardio, abs, and stretching. The only problem was that I did my workouts out of order so had to do my legs workout on Wednesday and left Thursday as a rest day.  Friday was cruise intervals in the great outdoors but it was pouring rain. I’m afraid to the CBF’s attack me that day!  And Saturday was the same… I decided to focus on the Kitchen Makeover task and meal planning.  Because I have missed 3 days in a row.. I need to pull out a 10km run this afternoon!!

During the week I attacked the pre-season tasks: writing up my excuses, thinking about my goals, and making plans!   My fridge is stocked, meal plan done, and clothes ready for the week ahead!

The biggest thing I have done this week is to find small rewards to give myself. 

A soak in the bath with the muscle soak RADOX and painting my nails started off my week with my best foot forward!  I even downloaded some television shows and enjoyed watching them with a hot chocolate!  It has been great to take the emphasis off food as my reward and the first port of call when it comes to relaxing.  Even taking some time to just lie quietly and listen to the Jillian Michaels podcasts has been great! 

Giving myself these small rewards has helped to take away the temptation to reward myself with food!

Jeni

Kitchen Makeover: P-S Task 5

I love doing the kitchen makeover.. NOT! 

At this stage the process itself isn’t drastic, the food I have in the house is mostly good aside from some convenience food for hubby and kids. 

Most of the really bad food rarely stays very long!

I do have to make some compromises here.  My eldest child has Asperger’s syndrome and doesn’t take change very well (as well as hitting puberty!).  It is a struggle to get him to eat full-stop so I tend to keep a few basic convenience foods in the cupboard that probably would not pass the Mish test, but they are things he can prepare himself!  I see some cooking lessons for him in the future!

The fact is, I don’t have a lot of time to cook, nor do I enjoy cooking, so I have to rely on my partner.  And he is not one for healthy cooking!  Yes, it is an excuse!  So to overcome this excuse I am going to meal plan, cook ahead for both family meals and some individual meals as well, and get a system going for making sure we have things prepared!!

So today I am cleaning out my fridge and freezer – my nice huge brand new Fridge!  I am doing up a meal plan and shopping list for tomorrow, and then starting out with Alison’s Penang Chicken (cooked in double) for tonight with a family serving put in the freezer for during the week. 

 

Jeni

Say it out Loud: P-S Task 4

This one is always hard for me.

This is the task where you need to think forward and consider what you are actually willing to ‘do’, not just say you are going to to.

It is easy enough to say what you want to do and how you would go about doing it, but are you actually going to do it?  Does your mind immediately say… ‘well, unless I get sick'.’, or ‘except when I am tired.’.   All those excuses suddenly start jumping up on that pathway you’ve just laid out to get to your goal.

Making a commitment is about setting those excuses aside and doing it anyway.  Acknowledging that there will be times when it is hard, there will be times when it is impossible.. it won’t be perfect.. but it will get done.

I’ve warned my family the kitchen makeover is coming, I’ve warned my workmates I will not be participating in morning teas, and I’ve let the gym know I will be a regular for the next few months so they had better make sure the ladies gym is well stocked with weights!

To Mish, to the support crew, and to fellow 12wbt’ers…

I hereby commit to training 5-6 days a week, following the lean and strong program.  I commit to using 12wbt recipes to create my own meal plan and incorporating healthy meal and snack ideas of my own within the guidelines.

I commit to participating in the forums, Facebook, and blogging regularly to help inspire others and to help keep me focused on my goal.

Jeni

Gear Up: P-S Task 3

Now this task is easy as pie!  I already have my gym membership and I even have a back-up ‘at home’ Super Saturday Session thanks to one of my fellow Rockhampton 12wbt’ers!

But I do have a few loose ends to tie up to really complete this task!  I need to re-charge my Polar HRM so I will be sending that off to done.  I also need to think about whether or not I will be spending the money to get 15 cross fit sessions.  On top of that, there is the shoe issue.. I need new ones!  And long pants from Mish’s new clothing range… Well, let’s just say I could send myself broke!

But the reality is, I don’t need anything!  Money is just not a good enough excuse.  I don’t need a polar, I don’t need cross fit, I don’t need $300 shoes!  I just need to do it.

I’m ready to go!

Jeni

Goal Setting: P-S Task 2

I’ve done goals before.  I forget them.

The things with goals is that have to mean something.  REALLY mean something.  They have to mean enough for you get out of bed at 5:30am, to head to the gym after a 16hr slog of housework, studying, and running around after kids, to miss out on late night television so you have enough energy to do your super Saturday session!

No stuffing around now.. let’s get honest. I want a shit hot body!  I want to be strong because it is FKN sexy!

I want to impress the blokes with a few pull-ups, do a handstand push-up, the splits, rock the chest press and squat my body weight. I want to be better.  Better then average, better then above average even. I want to impress people. No, I want to impress myself!

And I have a date for it.. October 28th I will be marrying my sweetheart of 20yrs.. exactly 20yrs since we first started ‘going out with each other’.  I want to be the sexiest 37 year old bride that ever walked down an aisle!

To make this stay in my mind I’ve created an iPhone wallpaper of my goals!  That way I will see it every day, several times a day, and I will not get off track!