12 weeks = goal SUCCESS!

SO, right now I'm "supposed" to be packing my bags, getting myself ready for my FIRST EVER PLANE RIDE tomorrow (eeeeek!) and heading off to Melbourne for a fun-filled few days of well.... fun... filled with more fun, haha!

.... and then I started thinking!  (oh yes, I call it "thinking" .... not PROCRASTINATING! hehehe)....

Some of you already know, but let me explain!  I'm off this weekend to Melbourne to join all the other 12WBT guys & girls for a training session AND finale party!  I officially had to forfeit the 12WBT program when the Biggest Loser Club threw me the challenge of all challenges (starting just two weeks later) - and I seriously couldn't say no!  I folded my registration and hit the GO button on my Commando Challenge instead....  but I haven't done this alone!

NO - I've had a VERY special bunch of women who have paralleled me the entire way through!  These awesome women are all 12WBTers - we started the program together, and have been motivating, supporting and inspiring each other ever since!  These special ladies "gave me their blessings" to forfeit their "team" (I felt terrible opting out) - but their support and encouragement didn't end there! In fact, we've been paralleling the entire way through!

So much so, that they have all just finalised THEIR 12WBT challenge, with today being the final weigh in (right after mine, last Sunday!) - and this weekend's celebrations cap the entire 12 weeks off!  I'm off to celebrate and meet these amazing women - and anyone else who I happen to run into (hahaha!) - to congratulate them on THEIR amazing achievements and milestones, overcoming all the hurdles and barriers THEY have faced along the last few months too!  In no short terms, these ladies are BEAUTIFUL in every aspect of the word - and I hazard a guess that I would not have come through my own Challenge without these ladies paralleling their challenges right beside me...

Which makes this trip even more exciting for me!  Not only do I get to jump up and down and celebrate our accumulated achievements - but I get to knock some of my other goals off the list now too!  - including my first ever plane ride!!!  (whhheeeeeee - and we can thank Pand for this one - she's even flying up here tomorrow to pick me up so I don't have to travel alone.... how loved am I?!!  I even have personal babysitters, hehehe!!!) - AND I get to face-to-face meet these amazing women!

SO, back to my story....  sitting here tossing up what to throw into the suitcase for this mammoth event - and more importantly, running around in my brand new dress and heels for the party (and thinking I've won the lotto - cuz the dress is even less snug since I bought it the other weekend!)  ....  I realised that today would have officially capped off "my 12 weeks" (if I hadn't have forfeited) - so I went and revisited my paperwork from the beginning of the 12WBT.....

At the beginning, it asked us to put some goals into place - and having just re-read over my one, three, six and twelve month goals I'd set 12 weeks ago.... I can honestly say that I'm gobsmacked. I have tears rolling over my cheeks - cuz I'm just SO SO SO proud of myself right now!  I *knew* there'd been some massive changes lately (the last 2 months with the Commando Challenge have been enormous - HUGE transitions both physically and mentally)... but to see what "previous me" had written for herself, in comparison to my reality....  just WOW.

I wanted to share....

Twelve weeks ago (end of Feb) I started the 12WBT at roughly 109kgs.  In the first two weeks, I lost about 4.5kgs, and then had to forfeit when I officially started the Commando Challenge with BLC.  That huge loss in just two weeks threw a massive spanner in the works - I've never pulled such high numbers before - and they lowered my "goal" down to 95 as a result of it!    I was at 104.2kgs as my official start weight for the 8-week Commando Challenge, and questioned my ability to pull such big numbers for the duration thereafter (given my body doesn't regulate losses like that - let alone in such high numbers!!).   Well, the rest is history (so to speak) and we already know I hit it..!!!    BUT reflecting back on ALL my goals, it really made me realise just how much I've achieved OFF the scales...


These were the goals I'd set at the beginning of the 12WBT - not knowing I was about to embark on even BIGGER challenges ahead!   ....


One month goals:
Lose 2kgs - Join the gym, attend my first group class - Get back in the pool at the gym - work up to swimming 10 laps - Work up to 4x laps of my river circuit walk (12kms - currently at 3laps) - Buy kayak  - Build up running efforts - Try NEW EXERCISES at gym - incorporate more strength training.

Think we can safely say I blew the kilos lost out of the water in the first month!!!   AND I joined the gym - AND attended my first ever group class (my beloved Pump)  - and whilst I didn't make it into the pool until later (as one of my weekly set challenges) - I DID knock this one on the head too as it wasn't just 10 laps, I hit 30!!!      Bought my kayak (dubbed "The Commando" - again, that was BEFORE the arrival of the Commando Challenge!!!  The Universe does throw me some warped things sometimes!!!)... and I NOW RUN intervals!   New exercises at the gym - TICK!   More strength training - TRIPLE TICK!!!  ... oh, and as for those river laps, let's say FIVE laps now!  Oh yeah baby!!!


Three month goals:
Lose 6 kilos - Be attending at least 3 group gym classes per week, and half hour cardio before/after. Pool sessions on a 4th day on its own - build up to 30 laps of pool. - Get on a plane for the first time to go to Melbourne for 12WBT bootcamp and party! Night out with the girls - in a NEW outfit!

Ohhh yeah, knocked that 6kgs goal on the head too!!!!  I'll delve more on that one in a tick...  Three group gym classes a week - CHECK!  Cardio before/after - again check!  Pool sessions - regular - and I'm now up to 50 laps a hit!   PARTY IN MELBOURNE to come on Saturday - and that new outfit, well, I'm wearing it right now in anticipation... hahahaha!!!  My first ever REAL DRESS - another milestone moment!!

Six month goals:

Lose 10kgs - be back in double digits!!! - Katoomba hiking/trail walk - Climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge!!! - Do 50 laps of the pool

Again, safe to say that kilo goal is done and dusted - and as for that double digits goal.... BOOOOOYEAHHHHH!!!   That one went off a couple of weeks ago!  NOT IN SIX MONTHS TIME!!!   THAT is the one that really blew my mind when I was reading over it a minute ago - I've literally knocked a few solid months off that baby, and am SO happy!!   50 laps of the pool, DONE!   As for the Harbour Bridge climb - well, you guys already know I have that booked in for August (YAYYYYY!) as one of my goal rewards for the NEXT milestone... More fun to come!

This is when things REALLY start to take some perspective for me - these were REALISTIC, set goals I'd issued myself 12 weeks ago - and to see them come to fruition like this, in such a BIG way, is just boggling my mind right now!

SO much has changed in just two months - the Commando Challenge really threw me into overdrive with my goals.  It pushed me beyond my limits - both physically and emotionally - and made me realise just how much I WANTED this new chapter of my life!  My transition over the past three years has definitely been "slow and steady" - I'm the tortoise!!  I've always been happy to stay in the background, push at it bit by bit... but this year, I was READY TO RUN - it was time to push myself out of the comfort zone and really crack this baby through!

.... and the results speak for themselves!  In the past 12 weeks, I've lost 13.8 kilos!   That's more than double my usual "slow and steady" pace... and yes, I have had to seriously earn it - I've never trained so hard in my life, never been SO disciplined with my food, nor pushed myself out of my comfort zone in a hundred ways the way I have for the past two months!

I have earnt every freaking gram of that loss - but more than just the numbers - I have never been SO proud of myself for beating all the self-doubt, inhibitions and demons along the way. I've never been SO STRONG as I am right now - and you can't measure THAT success on the scales!!!

Reflecting on that, it's taken me three solid years of working on sustainable weightloss, and having knocked 75% of it on the head (alot of tears and tantrums later!) - this year I was truly ready to take it up a notch! Seriously big numbers need some serious time to do it properly - and it's only this year I've felt like I'm in control enough to really push my boundaries - knowing full well all my discipline, structure and healthy lifestyle habits were very solid behind me.  Without those, I would NOT have come through this the way I have... It's the only reason I've survived, hahaha! 


... and here's the last one, my twelve month goal:   (to really put it into perspective)
Lose 22 kilos - be at goal weight 88 kilos!! - Book in for body surgery (January 2012) - Be exercising 6 days a week, and always diligent with food

That's ME - every day - working on the food, working on the health...  That's not 12 months away, that's RIGHT NOW!   Lose 22 kilos - make that 7.2!!!!    7.2 to my next major milestone goal - that elusive 88 - is just 7kilos away!  (she says with tears spurting out her eyeballs!!!) - THAT is the goal that means the world to me, and it's not that far away..!!!    That's my August goal now - what I'm working for now...  THAT is my next challenge - and it's another 12 or so weeks away!  Coincidence?!  I think not....!!!

Unbelievable...!!

In three months, my entire little world has changed SO MUCH - those goals were just something to keep me moving forward - but they seem to be literally re-shaping my life!!   I did NOT foresee all the amazing things that would happen in just a few months - forging the friendships and network I have now (to which I'll forever be grateful); the opportunity to extend myself beyond my own imaginings courtesy of the Commando Challenge and its "step it up" mentality; realising I'm no longer burdered or hindered by an enormous body (mental transition here has been insane!); and finding this crazy inner courage, strength and character I hadn't really "let loose" before....  my god....

I am truly grateful right now!    .... and how much am I loving this new me?!!!

The next 12 weeks - my goal is that final 7.2 kilos...  If the last 12 weeks is any indicator, there's going to be some seriously amazing changes to come - so it's definitely time to put some more dreams down on paper....  that'll be my homework when I come home from Melbourne!  BRING IT ON!!



Can't wait to meet my gorgeous posse this weekend - and congratulate ALL the 12WBTers for a job well done!  I truly hope they've all achieved some of their goals too - it's an AMAZING feeling!!!!

Lots of photos and crazy bloggy-goodness about my adventures to come!

Now, back to packing....  What on earth do I put in this suitcase?!    New dress, trainers, undies....  hahaha   (I know... I'm a worry....!)

xx   :D