So this weeks challenge is to look at what are you actually TAKING up? What are you giving yourself? Are you learning something new? Taking up a new sport? Giving yourself a social life?
Where do I start in answering this challenge? When I first started reading the posts on the 12wbt Facebook page at the end of Round 2 2011 I really couldn’t understand some of the things people were talking about – especially about how the program was about so much more than losing weight. I had 75 + kilos to lose and that’s all I cared about as I prepared myself to sign up for Round 3 2011. Little did I know how much confidence, determination and self esteem I was going to discover in myself. Little did I know how much knowledge I was going to gain about myself. Little did I know how much knowledge I would gain about the science and psychology of weight loss. And little did I know how many wonderful friends I would get to know, who would support me, encourage me and help me to be a better version of myself.
Last night I returned from a weekend in Thredbo with 23 other 12wbt Sydneysiders – there’ll be a long 😉 blog post about it later this week, but in the meantime I’m going to share some of the weekend with you as an example of the positive things about being on this program.
Here I am on Saturday morning with three other 12wbt Sydneysider members. We’ve just gotten off the chairlift and are getting ready to start the walk to the summit of Mt Kosciusko. I have never really been good at team sports, always worried about letting the other members down because I’m not coordinated enough or fast enough, and for most of my life, not skinny enough. I’m really proud to be part of the 12wbt Sydneysiders team though. I know that my best is always going to be good enough, and that I will get support and encouragement to do better than my best.
After about two hours of walking a moderate grade track, here I am at the top of the mountain. At times it felt impossible and at times I just wanted to stop and lie down on the track. But instead I would look at my Heart Rate Monitor, and look at my current heart rate and know that I could keep going – that the difficulty was in my mind – not in my legs or my cardiovascular or respiratory systems. I was determined and willing to push myself to my limits. Over the last few years before 12wbt I had forgotten how much I love a physical challenge, and what a great sense of achievement it is when you achieve what you set out to do.
And here are some of the Sydneysiders I walked with to the top of the mountain. It was my legs, my fitness level and my determination that got me there – but I don’t underestimate how empowering it was to walk with these fabulous people. Just chatting to someone about all sorts of things distracted my thoughts when the current incline looked impossible. Their encouragement as we reached each milestone helped keep me positive. And of course, if it wasn’t for one person in particular in the photo – I wouldn’t have even been there. The generosity of a 12wbt Sydneysider member to share her dream with us was the reason I was even there having “conquered” the mountain.
I had packed my swimming cossie for the weekend – because I liked the idea of going to the leisure centre after the walk to chill out and relax in the pool. And it turns out another seven Sydneysiders did too. However, they were also keen to try out the water slide. I wasn’t I have never been on a water slide before. Partly because I am such a scaredy cat and partly because I have a fear that I’m just too fat and I’ll get stuck. Before I knew it my friends had convinced me to give it a go. So I did. I was so scared! I screamed the whole way down – and I wish now I had my Heart Rate Monitor on, because I bet it would have been over 200 beats/minute! With the support of good friends I faced one of my fears.
And I love this photo. I don’t see a woman who is severely obese, instead I see someone who is just so excited to have faced a fear and survived. And I love the look on my friend’s face – sharing joy in your life more than doubles the joy!
So this last weekend I have gained
- the feeling of being a successful team member.
- the knowledge I could achieve anything I set my mind to if I am determined enough.
- the ability to face my fears.
- the understanding that I don’t have to do everything alone.
Next weekend I am meeting up with another Sydneysider member – and with her help I am going to learn how to ride a bike at the age of 46, after never having done so. (Are you impressed by the absence of the word try in that sentence?) And her generosity of spirit, along with attending a running clinic and doing some stroke correction lessons means I am going to enter my first triathlon in October this year.
I am going to start a new sport – Orienteering – I used to love that at primary school.
I am going to try out Cardio Tennis – I used to love playing tennis as a teenager.
If the opportunity arises I am going to try doing a low ropes course.
And I am going to start making plans to reconnect with my old friends, the ones I’ve been hiding from because I’ve been embarrassed about my weight gain. I don’t have to wait to get to my goal weight to in order to look like my old self in order to socialise with them again, because I already feel like a better version of myself.
And those are the positive things I have gained in my life. So much more important than having lost 26kgs.