Week 12 - habit keeps you going when motivation is lacking

Amazing!  I've reached week 12 already - and that without dying, but also without undergoing a miraculous transformation either!  When I look at the before and after pictures on the USN website of people taking up the 12-week challenge, then I feel like a wee bit of a failure!!  However, if I look at myself 12 weeks ago and how I felt and look at myself now and the golden oldies I'm digging out of the wardrobe because they actually fit and the fact that I feel fit and energetic (well most of the time anyway!) then I feel rather good.  This is after all a lifestyle change and not something that is destined to last only 12 weeks.  I'm also not consuming vast amounts of chemicals to help me get there.  I read a Tweet today that said when motivation is lacking, it's habit that keeps us going.  I realised that this is probably where I'm at right now.  I think exercise has become a habit.  I sure get grouchy without it!  As brilliant a week I had during the holidays, I had a bit of a flop last week.  This was for various reasons, e.g. my Mom has become extremely frail and unwell, my youngest has a dancing schedule that "skriks for niks" as he is dancing in the SA Nationals this coming weekend, and by Friday evening I realised I hadn't seen the outside let alone the inside of the gym.  I felt tired and miserable when the husband said that I simply have to accompany him as he HAS to go so that he can take the weekend off.  I imagined performing various acts of violence on him with various pieces of gym equipment, but I went along.  After all, when someone is that motivated, you gotta have respect.  


So we arrive at the gym at about 18h30 on a Friday night.  Right.  Grumpy and Mr Motivated are in da house.  Well, it took me one whiff of that gym air - you know what I'm talking about - that combo of chlorine, sweat, a dash of steroids, a little blood and more than a few tears - and I was amped.  I would surely show that treadmill who is the boss.  I pounded away for 20 minutes on the treadmill gaining motivation from a gentleman in the pool who had a stunning style *evil grin*!  I hopped off the treadmill and claimed a bicycle.  I assumed the racing pose and proceeded to better my record of 10km in 20 minutes.  With the sweat pouring off me making a little puddle around the bike, the husband came up to me and mouthed "YOU are SCARY" while Pitbull urged me on ever faster from my MP4 player.  I just smiled!  


After cleaning up the bike and floor with extra heavy duty antibacterial cleaner, I popped over to the other side of the gym and did a fantastic workout on the Powerplate.  The Powerplate has become my abs new best friend!  Use the right technique and those vibrations really wake up the muscles.  No wonder you have to wait 48 hours between sessions!   The few pieces of sushi and the glass of red I had for supper tasted absolutely awesome after that session.


Saturday I took a rest day - if you can call running around wildly trying to complete a long list of errands a rest day!  Sunday afternoon it was back to the gym for a welcome workout.  I find doing some hectic cardio followed by free weights on the Powerplate is my thing at the moment.  We'll see what results it brings. 

Week 11 - 180%

Well, here we are at the start of week 11 and what a week has just gone by!  You know, I use a Polar heart rate monitor which is set up to improve my fitness.  It gives me the amount of calories I need to burn in a week in order to do that and at midnight every Sunday night it leaves a little envelope on the screen of my watch for me to find on Monday morning to tell me how well I've done for the week!  This morning it told me I achieved 180% of my weekly calorie burn!  Awesome!  Now, I managed to do this because it was school holidays so I could hit the gym every morning for a decent workout without the clock chasing me to get home and get the boys up and everything organised and ready for the school run.  It was truly fantastic!  Having a really good gym session in the morning is the most awesome way to start the day.  I know I was not supposed to, but I snuck onto the machine during the week - clearly I've hit another plateau because my weight is the same and the body fat is the same as the previous time.  That's ok - at least it hasn't gone UP and I've figured now that my body does this in some sort of step pattern!  Just when I'm ready to give up and throw in the sweat towel, I suddenly get results!  


I don't actually think I could give this up now!  I have become kinda addicted to exercise now and the great thing is to realise that it's just become part of my lifestyle now.  That's a great feeling.  I was chatting to a friend in the gym on Saturday - this was after I'd just attained my goal of cycling 10km in 20 minutes - and saying that my results are so slow and I seem to be working really hard and being very good about what goes into my mouth.  She suggested I actually add a bit of carbs to my meals before 14h00 - NO carbs after that!  Now if you could see her body, you would listen to everything she has to say!!  May I just mention here that she is a granny and she looks better than most of the young bokkies at the gym!  


Oh ouch!  Talking of bokkies.... ai shame, our fantastic Bokke were knocked out of the world cup on Sunday morning in the quarter finals.  There seemed to be a cloud of depression and frustration hanging over SA all of yesterday!  Look I don't know enough about rugby to criticize... but the REF!!!!  I don't know!  


Ok people, it looks like Summer is making a great attempt at arriving and actually staying for a while!  Let's rock this week's socks off, ok?!

Week 10 - probably the toughest yet

I have just had to check the calendar and make absolutely sure that I really have been doing this thing for 10 weeks already!!  It doesn't seem possible!  On various fronts...


Ok, so today is the start of week 10.  Still, I expected to be 10kg down by now and looking a whole lot different to when I started.  I really haven't had a good week, so this blog entry may have a bit of a negative feel to it.  I may even become whiny at some point, but I did promise in the beginning to be honest!  And right now, I feel a bit like a whiny child who cannot get their way!  


After being well and truly "donnered" by the yoga class, my entire body hurt for days afterwards.  I did a power walk on the Monday after work, but on Tuesday morning when my alarm woke me at 04h40 for my early morning gym session, my body just said "forgeddaboudit, capiche".  I had also not slept well for two nights in a row. I reset the alarm and went straight back to sleep!  I spent the day on Wednesday at Tygerberg Hospital and when I went to drop my son at the dance studio for his hip hop class (and of course my power walk), we found the studio closed and so we assumed that class was finished for the term.  I drove home - no power walk.  On Thursday I had to catch up on Wednesday's work that I'd missed and so ended up working late - and missing my beloved 17h30 zumba class.  My colleague is on leave, so I worked all day on Friday and therefore missed out on my usual hectic Friday afternoon workout too.  Aaarrrrgghhh!!!  Just like that and a whole week has slipped by and the exercise sessions are sorely lacking.  


We were child-free on Friday evening and went to a movie - Friends with Benefits.  Very sweet movie by the way - a fairly predictable romcom, but you know for me, I go to movies to escape reality, so I like the nice ending type movie, or the real skop, skiet and donder also does it for me, although I get a little amped and should preferably see a movie like that first thing in the morning, followed by a gym session!  I digress.... Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis are the two main characters in the movie - plenty eye candy for both the guys and the girls.  However, it got me thinking and feeling like a fat, middle-aged, washed up disaster zone!  Believe me, when I hit the gym on Saturday morning, I was DRIVEN!  Between yesterday and today I managed to catch up on my calorie burn for the week.  I am really looking forward to this coming week as I'll be able to hit the gym every morning as the kids have school holidays now and so my time is a little less hectic in the mornings!  Maybe I can double my calorie burn this week and make some head way!  


Again I say consistency is key as is continually checking in with yourself and finding out why you have these goals and keeping yourself motivated even when it seems that results are a far off dream.  


I have only 6 weeks left to my first goal post and then 10 weeks to the next.  Time to drop a gear or two and open up the throttle!!