Task 1: Introduce Yourself

Hi All

Thought I would pop in and introduce myself :)

My name is Leeana (aka whirlsie) and I am from Canberra.  This is my second round of the 12WBT, and I will be honest, I really hope that this round goes better for me lol!

In all fairness, my issues las round had nothing to do with the program, but mostly to do with the huge lifestyle changes I was going through and constantly getting sick.  I am hoping that all of those times I was sick last year have helped to give my immunce system a boost so that I can really give this round my all!

I have just changed from working full time to working part time so that i can go to university.  I have never been to uni on campus before, so that will be another learning curve!  I am really looking forward to going back to being a full time student, but I have to admit that it fightens me too!

I have been blogging about my journey since the beginning of last round, I find that being open and honest on my blog really keeps me accountable... plus when I have a 'win' I can't wait to shout it out there, so it's a great tool for that.

I am really looking forward to getting more involved with the Capital Punishment team here in Canberra - I really think that doing more events with them will help me succeed.  They are a great bunch of people, so motivating and inspiring!

Anyway, that's a little about me!

Inspired!

I have been so inspired from writing all of the blogger challenge questions and reading the forums, that last night at 8.30pm I decided to do a workout!

I started out with one of Mish's DVD's, but after about 15 minutes I must admit, I got a little bored... so I put on Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 on the Xbox.  OMG! So awesome!! I did some skipping and a little boxing and I even tried to do the hip hop dancing!! haha!!  But what I loved the most about it was the Tai Chi!  So much fun and so relaxing!!  Definitely something I could use more of!

For Christmas I had gotten the new Polar FT4 from my brother, and almost a month later, I finally got to test it out!  So, last night I burned 511 calories!!!

I also made a decision last night to go to the gym today... in the morning in fact!  Anyone who know's me knows that I am not a morning person... even my partner reckons I'm scary before I have had my morning coffee.  I am so proud to tell you all that I actually got up!!!  I set my alarm for 6am, and while I did get up at 6.20am, I have to tell you that I did seriously consider staying in bed... very seriously thought about it.  I am so glad that I did get up though!!  I got up, made myself a coffee, got dressed and headed out the door to the gym!!  I did a beginner workout from last round with Mish, and I can happily say that I haven't lost as much of my fitness as I thought I would have!!  In fact, I burned another 515 calories!!!

I am so glad that I went this morning!! I was able to come home and not workout this afternoon - completely guilt free!!  I am planning on doing it again tomorrow morning - I just need to start going to bed earlier now....

While I did exercise today, I do need to admit that my eating was off the charts... I haven't had a chance to do the groceries since we got back from holiday, so I will be doing that tomorrow to avoid having so much take away.

Mish has also opened up the pre-season tasks as of today, so I will be watching her video shortly and I will be making a post with my answers.

12WBT Blog Post Ideas

Since writing my last few posts on the Blogger Challenge and How to Start A Blog, I have had a couple of questions regarding blog posts and when e blogger challenge will start.

The Blogger Challenge will start on Monday the 20th of February - this coincides with the middle of the first week of the program (the week usually starts on a Thursday) and I will post up a new Blogger Challenge question each Monday morning for the 12 weeks. These will be scheduled in so that they will appear at 9am each week on my blog.

As for what you guys can write about in the meantime, I did consider putting a couple of extra questions up, but to be honest, I really feel that you guys will have plenty of ideas over the coming 4 weeks. Mish will be posting up her preseason tasks which will give you plenty to write about. I would suggest writing some of them in the forums as she asks, but also putting them onto your blog. This not only gives you things to write about, but also makes it easier for you to refer back to them during the program. Plus, it also makes you accountable by having them there...

Other ideas which you can write about during the program are:

• your exercise - what you did, how you felt it went, how many calories you burned, if you tried something new
• your food - did you try a new recipe, did you eat on plan, were there any challenges?
• milestones - any special achievements?
• fitness tests - what were your results, what were the outcomes, are you happy with how you did?
• your weigh ins - how did you go, are you happy with the results, what do you think you will do the same/what will you change?

I hope this helps to give you some ideas, remember, you can also look at other peoples blogs for ideas. See what they are writing about, comment on their posts, make new friends - you never know when you will get inspired :)

How to Start A Blog

I don't pretend to be a master at blogging, nor a technological mastermind, however I can find my way around most programs.

Since announcing my plans to do the Blogger Challenge, I have had a few people asking me about how to start a blog.

Clearly, I am a fan of Blogger.com but I know a few people also really like wordpress (personally, I find their templates boring, but I am much more of a visual person).  There are many other blogging platforms out there, but I have found these to be the most common one.

As I am currently using Blogger, this post will be mainly focussed on this platform.

So, in a nutshell, these are my steps :)

1. Go to www.blogger.com to sign up for a new account, click on "Get Started"

 

2. In the next screen, fill in the form to create your account.

3. The following screen is where you will type in the title of your blog as well as the address which will appear in the address bar (what people will type in to get to your blog). Try to come up with a name that is relevant to what you are doing. The more unique the name, the more likely the name will be available.

4. Now comes the fun part (at least for me it is!) - the template!! here is where you will choose what your blog looks like. For the time being, unless you are feeling more confident, just pick one of the templates they have on offer by clicking one of the pictures as shown below (I have customised my template on this blog in another part of the website).

5. TA-DA!! You blog has now been created!! This next screen gives you the option of creating a blog post right away or customising the way your blog looks. If you are totally new to all of this, I would recommend just going onto writing your first blog post - worry about the look of your blog once you are feeling more comfortable, you can find how here (for Blogger)
 

By clicking on this link, you will have one of the two following screens - I am going to give you a basic run down of both:

Old Interface

New Interface 

With both of these interfaces, there are common buttons, however they are in slightly different places.  This is what they all mean:

• Red Arrow - this is where you type in the title of your blog post (for instance, the title of this blog post is "How to Start A Blog")
• Large White Rectangle - this is where you type your actual blog post - what you want to tell people.
• Blue Arrow - this is where you can add a label to the post so that it is easy to find/search for later on (eg 12WBT, exercise, goal, pre-season, etc)
• Purple Arrow - this will save your post but it will not make it appear to the public. Blogger also automatically save your posts as you type, however it doesn't hurt to save as you go
• Orange Arrow - this is your "Publish" button.  This is what will make your post appear on your blog to the public.
• Pink Arrow - This is how you can preview your post - so you can see what it would look like to the public before you hit the Publish button
• Black Arrow - this is how you go the the actual blog ie what the public sees.  Try not to hit this button while you are typing your posts, as it will take you out of that screen and to the public site.

How to create a new post
Ok, so your blog is now all set up and you have probably written your first introductory post!! WOOT!  Now, you probably want to know how you can write another one when you need to.
Well, these next points are based from the Dashboard (aka, main screen just after you log in)

Old Interface

New Interface

With both of these pictures, I have used a Black Arrow to highlight the button that you need to press to create another blog post - that's all you need to do to get back to the above "New Post Screens".


I really hope that this has helped you!!  Blogger has a great help site located here.  There are also a few specific pages that you might want to look into once you are feeling up for it:
How to customise the look of your blogs
How to add the little gadgets to your blog

Getting Back into the Groove

While I haven't had a new post in a couple of days, there has actually a lot of work going on in the background.  You see, I have decided to do a Blogger Challenge for the 12WBT for the upcoming round.  (This is an unofficial one - just for the record!)

I got the idea from Courage2Start from the one that she started for round 3, 2011.  I actually got a lot out of participating, and I found that I was really looking forward to the new questions each week.  I loved it so much, I had a chat with Kath and as she wasn't going to do one this round, I thought that I would give it a go!  

So, if there aren't any regular posts coming up, the reason is because I am busy typing up the posts/questions for the blogger challenge... These will all be scheduled so that they will go up each week at the same time.  Plus, if I have them ready to go before they are needed, if anything comes up, they will still be there and will go on the blog no matter what.

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about doing it.  This is my kind of thing... lots of planning and getting involved! haha!

I have been thinking a lot about the program and what i really want to achieve not only for this round, but also for this year.  I have been putting a great deal of thought into it all; mostly in regards to what my goals will be, what I want to focus on, what I think I will struggle with, and how I will overcome these.  I really feel that thinking about all of this now will stand me in great stead for when I need to answer the pre season tasks.

I have been in serious holiday mode since the end of round 3, and I have to say - the scales aren't looking good... This morning decided that it was time to start weighing myself again and trying to cut out the chocolate so that I can jump in, ready to go in just over 4 weeks time.  Now that our guests have left, and life is settling into a normal routine, I am hoping to get back to the gym (in the mornings!!!!!) and shed some of the weight.  I will own up to the fact that I have put almost all of what I lost in round 3 back on.  This morning I weighed in at 95.4kg.

I think that one of my biggest concerns at the moment is that I will be sick like I was last round.  I really found it to be so disruptive to getting into a routine and keeping my motivation up.  At the moment I am fighting off an infection (but not an illness, so that's something) and I am on antibiotics.  Once I finish the course of AB, I will be back at the gym.  I really want to make this round work!  What I need to do though, is to find a middle ground between being committed to the program and stressing out.  I am a bit of an "all or nothing" kinda gal... so this will be an interesting challenge!

Well, that's an update from me!  Back to getting this Blogger Challenge all ready to go!!

The Unintentional Side Effect of the 12WBT

You know, when you think of the 12WBT, most people think of the weightloss, the food, the exercise and the complete overhaul of your life.  However, there is one thing that has really stuck with me since I did Round 3, 2011, and that is gardening. 

It isn't something that I ever thought that I would find a passion for, but here I am, after yet another trip to the garden store.  I have always liked the idea of being able to grow things (with my aunt and sister always gardening when I was younger) and I love the idea of being able to eat food that I have grown myself.

When I first started my garden, I made a couple of posts here and here, and I kept meaning to come in here and update with photos, however there was always something I wanted to add, so I put it off until I could post up the pics.  Now however, I am going to post up a whole bunch of pictures, as I have quite a few I want to share, plus, my garden has grown (and it will grow even more soon - I'm talking size, not plants, although hopefully they will grow too lol)

I have been able to harvest snow peas, beans, spring onions, tomatos, basil, oregano, thyme, coriander (although this plant is now dead! lol), carrots and lettuce.  You can see some of these below (check out my crazy warped carrots!)

The plants grew so well in the big pots, I actually went out an bought a raised garden bed and replanted a lot of the plants in the smaller pots that weren't doing so well... and ta-da! I had a real garden!!  I had done a bit of research using my The Little Vegie Patch Co book, and I read up about having a 'no dig (lazy) garden' where you layer organic material that as it decomposes, gives nutrients to your plants.  I placed all of this into a raised garden bed that I bought at Home Hardware (which B constructed for me).

In fact, I loved the outcome so much - I bought another one!!  I am yet to construct the second garden bed, but it's there, waiting.

My garden has done really well. and I am proud to say that I haven't killed anything - other than some snow pea plants that didn't like to be moved - lesson learned!! lol

I have gotten into gardening so much, that for Christmas I asked my family for a worm farm... that's right... a worm farm!!  People are a little surprised by what I wanted (the other present I asked for was a new Polar HRM lol), but I have to say, I am so excited!!  I love that we can use our food scraps in the farm and reduce our carbon footprint that way, as well as getting some fertiliser for the garden at the same time.  I was only able to set the farm up yesterday, so I got the gardening bug yet again.... hence the trip to Bunnings lol!

I could go to town in Bunnings, there is always something there that I could find a use for...  Yesterday, I bought some more plants (parsely, chives and lavendar), and I also bought some seeds (carrot and lettuce), a couple of pots (for the lavendar and for the strawberries I bought previously) and a little seed tray/greenhouse for growing the seeds.  I didn't realise it at the time, but the lettuce seeds I bought are actually in a tape, so that you can plant them in a straight row... how awesome is that!!  Makes me want to build the second garden bed so that I can test it out!

Anyway, I have posted some pictures previously of what the garden looked like initially, so I thought I would post up a couple of photos that I took yesterday, including of the new plants.

For any newbies out there, growing your own food will be touched on during the pre-season tasks.  Mish I think mostly talks about herbs... I just took it a step (or five!) further.

This is really something that I never thought that I would find an interest in... I mean, before I started I didn't even know what "gone to seed" meant, and I knew nothing about companion planting (interesting stuff really!), now, I still know next to nothing, but I am loving learning about it.   It also plays in well with my planning side, as I get to plan ahead for what I want to grow next, and I also found an app for the ipad (and other devices) called Gardenate, which helps you plan your garden and tells you when to harvest.  You can find their website here.

History

I just wrote this in the 12WBT Forums and thought I would also post it up here...

Well, I didn't think that I would post my story, but here I am.

Let's see, in 2007 at 22 I was told by my doctor that I was pre-diabetic, had high sugar levels, high cholesterol, was overweight and had PCOS. I still remember him telling me this and how I went to my sisters that afternoon and crying. My bestie who had recently past away at the same age as me had diabetes, so it all just hit too close to home.

I changed my diet by cutting out the processed foods and because I was too embarrassed to go outside to exercise because of my weight, I used an exercise bike 6 nights a week for half an hour while watching the biggest loser.

After 6 months I had lost 12 kilos, and needed a change, so I joined healthy inspirations. I didn't have much luck on the scales, but toned my body up to see some amazing measurement losses.

After our local one closed down, I switched from gym to gym, calorie counting along the way and over 4 years losing 23kg.

Then, the weight started creeping back on and I didn't put as much effort in... Then, earlier this year I got with my current partner and managed to put on 10kg in about 3 months! I was partying too much, eating out and not exercising... After all my work over the last 4, almost 5 years, I have still not reached goal weight... In fact, I was only 4kg shy of being back at my start weight...

I had let myself down...

Since mish started doing the 12wbt program I had debated about signing up. After chatting with a friend before last round, I decided to sign up.

My round didn't go according to plan... I was sick 3 times (as in bedridden sick), I moved house, I was in a stressful job, I moved in with my boyfriend (first time I had ever moved in with someone!!!!) and gained an instant family (we have his daughter full time), and finally I also changed jobs! Needless to say, I struggled!

In saying this though, I tried hard to stick to the program as much as I could, and it wasnt until week 11 that I really came unstuck. I didn't have the loss I was expecting, and I have since reverted to my old ways.

What upsets me the most is that I feel like I have let myself down, I feel that I could have done so much more and I am annoyed that I "allowed" myself to "fail".

However, I have learned a lot and I am back! I decided to go to the finale even though I was incredibly sick, and I have to tell you that the atmosphere is electric!! So much so that I actually cried when the workout started because I was so devastated that I was missing out!

I am currently in the process of setting myself some new goals, a couple of which are doing more with the Capital Punishment team here in Canberra, and trying not to stress so much about getting it "right" but just doing it (something I got from the interview with Run Mummy Run last round!), so I want to focus on exercising 6 days a week. Because my new job is so active, I want to become more of a morning person and start exercising in the morning before my day starts.

I have seen how well this program works, and I want it to work for me too - and no one can do it for me, but me!

I have blogged about my previous round, and it has all the highs and lows. I am going to continue writing it this round as I found that it made me more accountable, I would love to have more people reading it and commenting so that I am even MORE accountable lol.

Crippled by Fear

So a while ago I posted about some goals that I wanted to achieve, and these have been on my mind ever since.  I have been seriously considering how I can make these work.

Today I considered calling up the local pool to see about their next technique class, but I have to admit, I started feeling nervous again about actually taking the class!! 

A little history on me and swimming - when I was little, I did a lot of swimming lessons and I remember having a lot of fun!  However, somewhere along the way I became scared of swimming... terrified in fact!  I remember crying in high school to my parents about having to do swimming for PE, and crying in PE class about having to swim and being scared to put my head under the water.  The fear of putting my head under the water is actually something that I have bought with me into my adult life.  I have actually had to condition myself into being able to put my face under the shower without panicking!!

I am quickly realising that this really is a fear, and it is something that needs to be fixed.  It would even be something that would be a great milestone for the next round (ie being able to swim 5 laps - I can probably only do 1 lap.... maybe.... lol)

Inspiring, Emotional and Uplifting Weekend!

WOW!! WOW!! WOW!!

Talk about an amazing weekend!  This weekend was the end of round workout and party for Round 3 of the 12 Week Body Transformation with Michelle Bridges.

Now, I was actually quite sick over the weekend (and days prior).  I have never slept and rested as much as I have in the last few days as I have in years.  I do find it ironic that I started the round off sick, and ended it sick.  But, I think that just captures the kind of round I have had and wraps it all up rather nicely.

We walked from our hotel to the Workout (it was about an hours walk!! - after getting a little lost! lol).  When we got there, I have to admit I was amazed by how many people were there.  It was so impressive!!! 

So many different state/area teams with their colours.  The Capital Punishment team were there in our purple and white shirts.  (I did find out while we were there that the Sydney Crew have the same shirts! lol!!  It made it a little difficult to find other people from Canberra haha!).  Because I was so sick, I had made the decision to not to the workout, and I will tell you all now - I was disapointed since the moment I had made the decision.  However, this disapoinment was nothing compared to the feelings of devastation I felt once I seen Mish on stage and everyone in the crowd joining in on the workout.   I will admit, I actually just started to cry.  I don't know if I was just emotional, but I was just so incredibly sad not to be physically able to participate. (I was also able to hide the tears from B because I was sniffly anyway lol) The atmosphere was electric!!  Everyone was so pumped to be there!!  It was amazing to watch everyone do the workout (and even more amazing watching people do push ups on their toes!!!) Carrie and our friend Kerrie both did the workout, and they said it was hard, but amazing!  Carrie and I also grabbed a quick photo with a friend of ours (Shazzam) who also did the program this round (I'm on the right!)

Once the workout was done, Carrie, Kerry, B and I went and got a cold drink, had a wander around the markets at the Entertainment Quarter and then B and I made our way back to our hotel - where I put myself to bed for the next couple of hours before it was time to get ready for the party - after all that walking and excitement - I needed the rest!

The party was in the Hall of Industries - and WOW! Was it big!  It was so beautiful as well.  There were some great big screens up, so that everyone could see the speeches and awards.  Speaking of awards - there are some amazingly inspiring people out there!!  People have done so well on the program and some of those bodies

- OMG! You would never have believed that there could have been a bigger version of themselves if you didn't see the before photos!  There were free drinks to be had, and while I only had a couple, I did become quite drunk (although I was actually on cold and flu meds and white wine goes straight to my head!) and even got up and danced

(something that only happens when I am way more than tipsy!)  The taxi ride home was eventful in that Carrie, Kerry and I got the giggles - Poor B had to deal with 3 drunk, giggling women!!  I think he handled it all quite well!

Overall, this weekend was amazing!  Even though I couldn't fully participate, the energy and enthusiasm of the workout and party was enough to give me the courage to believe in myself again.  This round has been hard, but I know more than I did before I started this round and my crazy life is starting to settle down again so I should be able to make a real go of Round 1, 2012.  In saying this, I want to get into some kind of a routine before then, and once I am well enough again, I would like to get this started!  The only thing I 'regret' about this weekend (other than not being able to do the workout lol) was that I didn't really connect with some of my twitter/facebook 12wbt friends, and be able to catch up on the day/night - definitely something to remedy next round!

I have been thinking about some goals I want to set, so I will come back in and write about those soon!!  One of these though, would have to be to learn to be more proud of my achievements.  I struggle with recognising that losing 5kg this round is an accomplishment... I can see a difference in the before and after photos - and does mean something!  Plus, where would I be if I didn't lose those 5kg?? Something to think about :D

Ok.... I'm back!

It feels like it has been so long since I have written in here, and I will be honest, I have been hiding.  I became a little lost... well, completely lost...

First off, I want to say a massive thank you to my wonderful boyfriend.  He has done everything in his power to help me and to give me as much support as I could possibly want or need.  I know that I honestly wouldnt be here, in Week 12, without him at my side. Thank you B! Love you! xxx

The other night I had a bit of a melt down about my results for this round.  I know that I haven't done as well as I could have, and I perhaps didn't push myself as much as I should have.  I am in no way against the program, and I honestly believe and know that it works.  In this instance, I am disapointed in myself, and for me, that is probably the worst thing.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I don't like failing, breaking promises and in general being let down - either by myself or by someone else.

B pointed out the other night that I have had a lot of  big life changes going on over the last 6 months or more, and that I have done well to stick with the program as much as I have.... while I do think that this is fair enough, I am worried that maybe it is an excuse, and that I should have been able to take it all on and still have been able to exercise, because, let's face it, things come up all the time in life. I mean, what is going to be different compared with all of the things that will come up in the next few months?  I will still have to deal with them, and I will still have to try and make it work... Can I really do this?

As I mentioned, I had a heartfellt talk with B, and I think that the only way I would actually fail at this, is if I stopped - and I don't want to stop, because I am not happy with my body shape, energy levels or health prospects at the moment.

As Mish says "What are your alternatives?!" If I quit now, nothing will change - I won't lose weight, or tone up if anything, I would probably get bigger - which is not really an option.

So, while technically Round 3 has finished, I don't want this to be the end.  I want to continue on and keep going.   Things have changed considerably lately.  I have started my new job, which comes with more time at this stage (although I am wanting to take on a few more shifts before uni starts) and right now I am just trying to get into some kind of routine at the moment... I have to admit that I am still feeling a little stressed out about all the changes - which seems strange as it should be much easier for me now...  Once I catch up on everything that I have neglected lately, I hope that I can settle in for a little study time for uni so that I can understand a few things before classes start.

I have started thinking about what I want to achieve before the next round of the 12WBT (Preseason starts 16 January) as well as some longer term goals.  This is what I have so far:

• I want to be able to run for a whole kilometer
• I want to be able to do 60 push ups
• I want to get into the overweight category (about 3kg-ish to go)
• I want to consistently exercise
• I want to get fit enough to move up in the categories so that I can do Lean & Strong

One thing I realised the other night was that when I first started to lose weight in 2007, was that I didn't believe that I could lose weight, so I just focused solely on the exercise, and just made sure that I did half an hour (on my exercise bike, at home, watching the Biggest Loser) 6 nights a week, and tried to not eat processed foods. In retrospect, it seems so simple, but I am sure at the time, it wasn't.  Without realising it I was actually in the JFDI mentality - and I just need to get back there again.  I think that the key is to not get overwhelmed, just take it day-by-day and only looking ahead a week at a time.

I honestly have no idea how I can do this!  I don't know how to keep things simple and to focus on exercise rather than weight loss - any tips??

Right now, my thoughts are running towards exercising in the morning - it is always there, it's always before the day actually starts, and I already have B's previous offer of getting up with me (and making me coffee) to help me by making sure I get up and ready for the gym (I'm not a morning person... lol)  I am also thinking that I might stick with doing the gym machine workout, rather than the classes.  It is something that I can always do, and something that won't depend on the gym's class timetable.  Plus, in this workout set, I can also do the learn to run program.

Speaking of running - I used an app on my phone to track the length of the oval I have been running around is actually only 275m so, I wasn't running for long enough.  On the up side, now I can make sure that my time trial is accurate :)

Also, just quickly, the end of round workout and finale party is on this weekend.  I have to admit I am nervous about keeping up, but in a way, I am excited too.  I still havent decided which dress to wear yet, but it should be a good weekend away.  I am so glad that I will have B with me - as I said before he has supported me the whole way through - I think the least I can do is get him drunk with me as a reward lol!

Anyway, so that's where I am at the moment.  If anyone is still reading this blog, I would welcome your comments and opinions :)