Three Questions

I had a friend ask me a question the other day. Well actually it was three.

1. What for you was the turning point to getting fit?
2. What made this time different from other attempts in the past? 
3. What has changed in you?

To be honest I'd never actually really sat down and thought about them before but I told her I'd do a blog on it as they were very thought provoking for me. So here I go.

What was the turning point to getting fit?
To be honest I don't think there was one point. I had decided around Christmas last year that I was going to start running come the new year. I don't know why I decided to do that but I guess somewhere deep inside of me I wasn't happy with what I'd become. I started doing interval running on the first of January but went a little bit to hard and fast and injured my foot.  I started using my spin bike and the pool to keep me moving until my foot recovered and by the middle of February I was out pounding the pavement again.

Somewhere between February and March something clicked and a worked out that I actually liked running. I even took my gear with me on a holiday out to Uluru. It was around this time that my husband suggested that I an the Gold Coast 10km.  By now I'd started looking at doing the Mother's Day Classic 8km and told him that I'd do the 10 if I survived the 8km and the rest is history.

As the months went by I got fitter a could run longer and further but I still wasn't losing weight and wasn't happy about how I felt. It was late in April when I asked an online friend about the Michelle Bridge's 12 Week Body Transformation and I thought that I had nothing to lose and it could only help.

What made this time different from other attempts in the past?
The main difference from any other attempt to get fit, lose weight etc was that I wasn't doing it for an event, I wasn't doing it for someone else, I was doing it for me. I started fairly slowly and by the time I'd come across the 12WBT I was ready for a real change and wake. Realistically I could have done it all by myself. I know the calories in, calories out stuff but having the plan written out it front of you made it easier. The food is also REAL. I'm not eating chemical laden crap. Don't get me wrong I still indulge but nowhere near as much as I once did.

The other thing that helped me a lot was going to my first Stand Your Ground Workshop. In the words of Emma, it helped "get my shit together". Once again I knew everything she "taught" me but it just needed to be uncovered again.

Another thing that has made things different is that IT HAS WORKED! I've lost about 16kg since the beginning of May. I'm now at that point where by body is saying its happy and I've found a happy plateau and I'm happy staying at 65/66 for a while.

What has changed in you?
The biggest change I've noticed myself is that I love to exercise now.  I used to play a fair amount of sport back in high school and up until I left uni. I used to enjoy it but I wasn't as addicted to it as I am now. I guess back then it was more of a social thing too but at the same time it also managed to keep my weight under control without me having to watch things to carefully.
I've also now learnt that I have to find time for me. I can't be the person I want and need to be if I don't nurture myself first and exercising is part of that.  I now look at exercise and eating as a way of life not as a short term solution.

Source: happilymaintaining.tumblr.com via Kym on Pinterest