Pre Season Tasks

To get ready for the 12 weeks of 12WBT which kicks off on the 2nd February, there is a series of pre season tasks that we are required to do.  This is to get you into the best possible position you could be in for optimal success. I joined the pre season a couple of weeks late so have had to catch up pretty quickly.

So here are my tasks:-
TASK 1:- Introduce Yourself
Hi there .... I am Terri from Brisbane.  I work fulltime as a Clinical Nurse Educator and this will be my second round of 12WBT.  I did the first round a couple of years ago - but not too well. Since the 1st round that I did I had become quite active and regularly attended the gym.  Surgery last September put a halt to that and it has been so difficult to get back on track.  I have gained weight and now am approximately 30kgs overweight.  I would be quite happy if I could lose 20kgs - 30kgs would be wonderful!!!!  I have decided 2015 is the year I take back control and banish the demons that have been holding me back from being successful.


TASK 2:- Getting Real
This task is about overcoming the excuses that we use everyday as to why we can't eat well or be active. Why do we make excuses - why am I so lenient on myself that I am willing to give in easily?  I know what I looked like and how I felt when I was thinner - so what is stopping me from allowing myself to get back?

Internal Excuses
* I'm too tired
* It doesnt really matter if I eat this just this once (yeah like it is ever just this once!)
* I'm running out of time to go for a walk
* I'm too scared to ride my bike downhills or in traffic

Solutions
* So what - you know you feel energised after a work out - you'll also sleep better
* It does matter - think about what crap you are putting in your body - why are you being so cruel to your own body.  If you dont care for you and respect yourself enough to put only good quality fuel into it - how do you expect anyone else to respect and care for you.
* It doesnt have to be a long walk - any movement is better than no movement.  Spend less time knitting and more time on the treadmill.
* Go out and ride early on the weekends where there is less traffic until your confidence has built up.

External Excuses (in my control)
* It's too hot/cold
* I dont feel like it today
* I need to get the kids and then will be stuck in traffic and too late home

Solutions
* You've got air conditioning and an inbuilt fan on the treadmill & did is a good thing to get sweaty.  Also for cold days - you've got a tonne of indoor equipment at your finger tips.
* So what!!!! Make yourself do it - you know you always feel good afterwards.
* Cook something simple tto save time and just use the treadmill for a short while - or actually use the gym at work before your shift starts.

External Excuses (outside my control)
* Got out of work later than I expected.
* Back & feet are playing up

Solutions
* Do an alternate bit of activity than originally planned if pushed for time or if entirely impossible dont let one day of missed training turn into two, turn into three etc.
* If back is playing up - use the heat pads and take the dog for a walk rather than a run on the treadmill.  If its my feet use the indoor bike - as puts lets strain on them.

TASK 3:- Setting Goals
GOAL 1 - 1 month
* Lose 5kgs
Will follow 12 WBT to the letter and record all workouts & food intake in my diary

GOAL 2 - 3 months
* Lose 10kgs
* Conquer carb/sugar addiction
* Be running & cycling regularly
Will follow the 12 WBT, eating healthy and nutritous food and will run & ride regularly setting myself challenges to keep me motivated.

GOAL 3 - 6 months
* Lose 15-20kgs
* Call myself a cyclist and be able to go on road rides with my husband.
* Have incorporated healthy eating and regular exercise into my routine so much that I dont feel right if I miss a session or eat something unhealthy.
I will keep diarising my eating and activity & give my self small rewards and incentives to keep me motivated. Will stick with the running and cycling training.

GOAL 4 - 12 months
* Have reached my goal of 30kgs lost and be keeping it off and look and feel fabulous as a result.
* Competing in fun runs and cycling events - going on long road rides with husband and be able to keep up or better him
I will keep setting myself achieveable goals such as entering fun runs, and cycling events.

TASK 4:- Gear Up
I have absolutely everything I need.  Treadmill, rowing machine and exercise bike at home as well as free weights and a small weight machine.  Access to the free gym at work.  Access to boxing classes at work.  I have heart rate monitors and fitness monitors.  Really good running shoes and gym gear.  A fancy new bike and all the accessories to go with it.

TASK 5:- Say it out Loud
I have told my daughter that I have joined 12 WBT - I have started a blog so I can write about it all. I have just written my commitment in teh beginners group on the 12WBT forum.

TASK 6:- Kitchen Makeover
This was a pretty easy task as we really dont have any junk food or sugary stuff in the pantry.  I dont like pre prpared foods as we cook from scratch most of the time.  My problem is not what is sitting in the cupboard but what crap food I will go out and buy to eat - such as popping up to the shop for a packet of chips and eating it all up then & there.  Its what I but to eat while I'm out that's the problem.

I have kitchen scales and measuring spoons and had most of the healthy pantry essentials on Michelle's list already.

I've Done It !!!

I have been talking for ages about how I want to take charge of my health and sort out my weight issues once and for all. I keep making plans & not following them through & the result is that while I've been procrastinating I have gained wieght and let my fitness level slide. As a result I am not as happy as I used to be.

My husband has been saying for a while that he has noticed that I am no longer happy with life - well I actually am but being bigger than I have ever been is just making life a whole lot harder than it needs to be. And it is all my own fault. Currently I hate how fat I feel, how I cant move as well as I used to, how buying and wearing clothes is just a disaster - everything about the extra 30kgs I am carrying around.

Well instead of just saying I am going to do something about it - I just did. I have signed up for a round of Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation (12 WBT). I realise this is not a mgic cure all and that how successful the 12 week programe will be is entirely up to me - but I believe that by joining up & having a community to which I am accountable for will assist me in my motivation.
Creating this blog is also designed to increase my accountability and keep me on track. i know how hard it is going to be (I tried a previous round once before), but at this stage in my life I just have to do it - or my life will be shortened and will be pretty miserable if I dont - AND I DONT WANT THAT TYPE OF LIFE FOR MYSELF!!!!!

So I have signed up today, have started this blog and am working through the pre-season tasks as the 12WBT round starts on the 2nd February so I have to get everything sorted out & in place otherwise it will be doomed to fail.