Back in Round 2 of the 12WBT, I undertook a 50 kilometre walk along the federation trail. To recap on that, check out the link and read the Mini Milestone challenge.
Now I had two reasons to do this challenge. The first well, to see if I could do it! But right from the beginning, 8 weeks earlier, I wanted it to mean something. I wanted my challenge to be able to let someone else feel as GREAT as I felt, to feel the success and gain confidence, to change their lives and believe in themselves, like I learned to do. Those things are gifts that I will hold close to me, to experience such a huge turnaround in my life is more than I can express in words. And I found it through Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation. More than a weight loss program, this changed EVERY aspect of my life for the better. And ....it WORKS.
So after I completed the 50 K walk, I had raised the funds needed to sponsor another and pay for a heart rate monitor. Thank you so much to the generosity of my friends. And now, let me reveal to you, with permission, a picture of the results. I give you Theresa Lee, 10 weeks in to the program.
AMAZING! She was nominated by her friend.
"I would like to nominate one of my dearest friends whom I have known
since High School. Her name is Tess, she recently started to do some
training of her own and completed the 5km Run Melbourne. I would likeTess to receive this as she a mild case of Cerebral Palsy but as long as
I have known her it has never stopped her doing anything. She is a mum
to 3 beautiful kids including a son with Aspergers Syndrome so the
training could be a bit of 'Me' time for her. I have seen the Michelle
Bridges do amazing things for some special ladies and I know Tess
would love to continue training."
Now Theresa has not only lost the weight, she is RUNNING! Just recently she massacred a massive 7 minutes off her personal best time to run 5 km and has signed up for her first 10 kilometre funrun! She also regularly works out at 5.30, 6 am in the morning!
I challenge you, each of you to look at what excuses you make to not do the work. I still have excuses..." It's too hot, I'm too tired, i just don't feel like it!" But then I look at this AMAZING woman who has achieved so much in such a short period of time and she inspires me. Monumentally.
And just to finish, this incredible woman is signed up for another round......and I know she will SMASH it just like this time!
I can see the ending is near. Finale tickets are booked, the weeks are dwindling away. This is my last round for a bit at my husband's request (who wants me to face the new challenge of doing this 'myself' by putting what I have been learning into action. He has such great belief in me and I would be lost without his encouragement.) I am a little heartsick at thinking I am losing this little, or not-so little community, this feeling of belonging. As one door coses though, another opens. And I don't think the 12WBT door will ever be shut tight, all it needs is another knock at the door.
Meal Plans
Another delicious week and easy making and preparing. I think, for me, this why the program worked. My grocery lists are planned, ALL my meals are planned and everything takes little time to cook. The steps are simple to follow and I've grown in my skills as a home cook, using these recipes and new ingredients.
The megahit this week for the family was the 12WBT Bimbap meal. QUICK! EASY! DELICIOUS! and gone in 30 seconds :) Easy enough for the junior masterchefs to prepare next time!
The other perennial family favourite are the cacao fudge bites. Next time I make these, which will be.... oooo, about 20 minutes from now, I'm going to roll them into balls, much like rumballs. I like to add a little water to help press the mixture into shapes, and thought I may try to experiment with using a tablespoon of juice, perhaps orange and factoring that into the calorie count. I'll let you know how it goes.
Lunches this week were great and easily made. Lots of asian salads which I love, and the roast vegetable salad was good too. Note to me: next time, cut the veges smaller before roasting. The menu plan for next week is looking YUM and I already have a request from Mr 11 for the 12wbt lasagne as a treat meal.
Exercise Plans.
I overdid the legs this week and paid the price. On Monday I did a CX class and Attack class and there's lots of lunges and squats/jumps in those. Then Tuesday I had PT which was all legs and Wednesday which was a leg weight day. Come Wednesday night and I had DOMS to rival that of when I ran the halfmarathon. If I could have cut my legs off to get some sleep I would have, it was painful, with no way of getting comfortable. So lesson learned there, big time.
My motivation to get to gym is lacking but once I'm there I'm all ready. Tiredness is creeping in and I think it is just a case of doing too much in my life, as opposed to diet or exercise. Need to find that balance again.
Personal Bests for this week are few.
Bent over row with barbell 32.5 kgs
Dumbbell pullover on fitball 12.5 kg
Walking lunges with Kettlebells 12 kg
Standing upright row with barbell 25 kg
High cable overhead extensions with the rope 28 kgs
Pec Dec machine 32.3 kgs
Bicep curls with dumbbells 8 kgs
Have a little whinge to make....my gym has recently held a recruitment drive, highly successful by the looks of it. Way more people in the gym which is good. What is not so good is there are also way more people loading up machines with weights, then standing around having a chat, or wandering off, or worse, finishing their sets and just leaving them there. I get frustrated because you don't know if the machine is still in use, and if it's not, then unloading 60-80kgs of weights before I can do my sets is an extra workout I can do without. So, I am just mentioning it to the front desk when I'm in tomorrow, maybe the trainers on the floor might be able to just remind people of some of the gym etiquette....or help me get the weights off! There, whinge over....let's move on.
SSS and Weekly Challenge.
Well....lets start with the challenge...it was a Vlog again BUT this time had a time limit of 1 minute. 1 MINUTE! to try and explain how much my life has changed doing 12WBT. I had so many ideas on how to do it but couldn't put any into fruition because I am just not a technological genius....so I wrote a poem and filmed it badly.
Now...my SSS......was a BLAST! I convinced some friends to do it with me....we all entered the Valley Stampede.
It was so much fun! An obstacle course over the paddocks in Wandin on a freezing cold 11 degree day. We waded, rolled, fell and crawled through mud, under barbed wire, waded through chest high ice water, up and over a bus on a cargo net, over 8ft and 9ft sheer walls, logs, tyres, tunnels, down a giant 50 m slip and slide, ran up hills and through trip wires, leaped over fire pits, hurdled over barrels in a dam while being hosed by the CFA fire hoses, climbed up ropes and over car bodies. We even braved the electric shocks....10 000 volts of electric shock is like a sledgehammer to the body! But we did it.
BEFORE:
and 1 hour after:
see? WAAAAAY FUN!
I want to share another pic....this one is of my daughter Miss 8. I missed her sports day through work, and it was a beaming little girl who greeted me with her chest fluttering in the breeze...
A first for hurdles, a second for sprints and the teachers star award ...for behaviour and achievements on the day. Well DONE MISS 8!!!
Finally for all of us...........I hereby bestow upon you the.....
Some of you may know I work in a kindergarten. Yesterday turned out to be more educational for me than it was for them I think! So I thought I'd share the love and learning.
LESSON No 1: Dance like there's noone watching.....
All 28 of my little treasures yesterday did a massive danceoff.....to gangnum style. Now you would have to agree, it is not the most attractive of dance styles but then hey, neither was hammertime.....
Was any one of those kids worried about what their mates would think? What I would think? What about the kidlets in the above clip? NO! They all think they have the BUSTINGEST moves in the world.....they weren't worried when their breakdancing just turned into funny falls or if they were even with the beat or not. They were just having FUN.
LESSON No 2: Whatever you do, do at 100% full throttle.
There was no half hearted dancing with the kinder children either...these guys, it was all or
nothing, no holding back. There were arms and legs everywhere, bodies on
the ground and up in the air. It was 100% effort, and 100% FUN. There was not one child, who every day, doesn't dance their hardest, run their fastest, or throw themselves around. Small children don't have degrees of effort, it's all or nothing. You are either awake or asleep, no in between. You are either starving or full. You are either painting a massive masterpiece, using every single colour available or just staring at the blank piece of paper.
Hmmmmmm.
So how many times do I stop myself doing something because I'm worried what people would think? That I'm not good enough to have a go? I'll make a fool of myself? And then I sit on the sidelines wishing I had the guts to do it. Or I'll try but it's halfhearted so I won't make TOO much of an idiot of myself....
A 4 year old is braver than me.....sobering thought. A 4 year old is living life harder and fuller than me....even more sobering. Perhaps I should tap into my 4 yr old subconscious and just KNOW I have the best bustingest dance moves (without having to have a drink or 3 beforehand), or basketball moves, or gym moves and go at it 100%. Give it everything I have no matter if I can or can't. Power up that self belief into hyperdrive and throw myself in boots and all. What have I got to lose? Better yet, what do I have to gain?
An exhausting week, but you can't be tired unless you are having fun!
Menu plans
Good meals again, although not a big fan of the fishcakes. Next time I'll just do chicken I think. A personal taste preference really, I have never liked a lot of seafood. The kids were ok with it.
May I say a big THANK YOU to Michelle Bridges for providing the banana bread recipe for breakfast. I'm in the running for Mother of the Year in the Junior Masterchefs eyes and Wife of the Year too. Who knew banana bread could bring about so much love and happiness? GREAT way to start a Monday morning!
Big thumbs up to the nasi goreng and the basil and balsamic strawberries with ricotta. Hands down my favourite dessert EVER.
I am really loving how quick it is to prepare these meals, especially the dinner meals. This week I have had extra shifts and meetings, which makes for a rushed Wonder Woman, but I was still able to pop dinner on the oven and have it on the table in most cases in 20-30 minutes.
I'm having hommus dip with carrot sticks, snowpeas, capsicum strips or celery sticks for snacks. The act of chewing so much helps trick my head into thinking I've eaten heaps, it tastes GOOD and has started the kinder kids at work bringing in carrot sticks etc in their lunchbox. THANKS AGAIN MISH!
Exercise Plans
erk, a hard week for me. I go to bed by 9-9.30 most nights, up again at 5 if there is a morning workout or 6 if it's a normal day. I average between 7-8 hours sleep a night. But By Thursday I was done. How did I know? Because bith Troy and I slept right through the alarm we had set for 5 and didn't wake until 6.30!!!! An impromptu rest day it turned out to be, as we coud only get to gym early that day. We obviously needed the sleep so instead of feeling guilty I missed a workout, I just re scheduled and relaxed about it. Then Friday and yesterday I found myself waking from an 'accidental couch coma'. A little like a nana nap but way deeper and involves dribble. Not sure why it's hitting me so hard lately, I was tired last week too. I've looked at my calories and adjusted the amount I'm eating, but I know I have a hard time slowing down as a rule so perhaps it is just a life thing.
Running group is going well :) We did tempo runs yesterday. My length was 3 km and worked out to be 4.50 minute kilometre splits. Happy with that, although I was pushed and struggling to maintain that pace. Considering my previous best was 4 km at 5.15 minute splits, I'm thinking it was worth it!
Personal Bests for this week.....not many. I had to ease off the Hamstring curl machine and leave my set unfinished because my right knee starting hurting like mad. I could lunge with it, but not do hamstring work with it. I'll give it a few days rest then see.
Barbell Squat 60 kg
Dumbbell rows 16 kg
Seated donkey calf raises 118 kgs
Bicep cable curls with rope 36 kgs
Other news!
We're off to SYDNEY!
Tickets are purchased, waiting to hear back on accomodation....cannot WAIT for finale again! This will be my last one so I'm aiming to really ENJOY it! I am sad knowing that in 4 weeks I'll be flying solo after 3 rounds but I know I can do it. What I think I will miss most is the support and the friendship on the forums, hope I can meet some of you on Finale night!
Lastly, and a little off topic for a laugh of the day, Junior Masterchefs wanted to make gingerbread men. So off they went while I vacuumed. Amazied at what I heard when I switched off the vacuum cleaner, I did the good mum thing and took a ninja cam shot of them rubbing the butter through the mix.....
And your final thought for this week......repeat after me.
Yes!!! After a long dim and cold winter, the sun is out! Time to expose those blindingly white bits of skin to the warmth of the day and try a few outdoor workouts. Go for a walk, swim or a run! Soak up those rays!
The sun, apart from warming us up and giving light so we don't keep walking into things, gives us health benefits too.
The sun gives us Vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for bone health, helping the bones to form correctly and strongly. It helps our intestines to function properly and absorb nutrients, is good for our skin and has an effect on weightloss too apparently.
The sun boosts our mood. Go on, test it out. Go outside and sit in the sun for 5 minutes. Feel happier already? Sunlight helps brighten our moods and to relieve depression. Think about it, how many of us suffer from the Winter Blues? But once that sun is out, everything is alright again, our mood lifts and there is a feeling of hope.
The sun improves our sleep patterns. Sunlight helps your body get into it's circadian rhythm, a natural wake and sleep pattern, so basically you feel more sleepy when it gets dark. Getting enough sleep has an effect on weight, energy levels and your psychological outlook as well This is all down to melatonin production, caused by the sun.
The sun could lessen alzheimer symptoms.This is according to an American study that showed alzheimer patients scored better on a mental exam after being exposed to sunlight thorugh the day. I don't think there's enough sunlight in a day for me in this case, but I live in hope. The sun keeps away vampires.Very important health benefit there, completely reduces the risk of your body being drained of blood during daylight hours by 100%. Unless it is Edward then the sparkle is enough to give you ample warning to get away. If you want to.
Seriously though, go on, go outside and enjoy it. If you normally run or walk on the treadmill, have a go outdoors. Smell what is blooming, hear the sounds, feel the warm breeze float over your skin. If you do weights, try a bodyweight workout outside, or change it up and go swimming or for a bike ride. Go out and LIVE!
What a laugh this week was...anger too as stated in my last post ( You said WHAT about my children?) but let's not let that dull the weird and fun from this week!
Menu plans
YUM! This was the week of the meatballs...so it seemed! We had veal 'koftas' which I made into meatballs and asian chicken patties, which turned out to be like big meatballs :) The junior masterchefs were most impressed....meatballs a big hit here.
We also had a big winner with the basil and walnut pesto (homemade) spaghetti with roasted pumpkin and tomatoes. I used the new 'Slim' pasta, and it was good. I had to rinse the pasta under running water as it was stored in liquid but it literally takes on the flavour of the sauce. And hey, if the kids like it it's a winner :)
Breakfast had an old favourite, apple couscous with yoghurt and cinnamon....mmmmm, very filling and oh so good. Love the banana smoothies as well, quick, easy and I can drink it while I'm organising children ( ahem yelling) for the day.
Exercise plans
An interesting week for me, found myself feeling more weary than usual which could be a result of the extra cardio I've added to my program. Still working out a balance there. By the end of the week I was stuffed and felt a little emotional during workouts. I was more than relieved to see others on the Lean and Strong facebook page were feeling the same this week. I wonder if it's just a week 7 thing perhaps?
The cardio I added this week was an hour body attack class after a 30 min CX core workout class on Monday....both incredible for calorie burn and I can really feel my core working. Tuesday was running club, a 9-10 k run consisting of a 3 k warm up jog and cool down jog, 2X 1 km time trials and a relay race as well as drills ( high knees, butt kicks, skips) Man, it was hard work but I loved it. I was concerned I wouldn't keep up but while I was behind the group all the time, I finished with them (thank god for traffic lights!) LOL. But remember.....
On to the personal bests for this week......
Leg extension machine 36 kg
Upright row standing with barbell 20kg
Rear deltoid raise with kettlebells 16 kg
Incline dumbbell bicep curls 7 kg
French press 12.5 kg
Bentover row with barbell 30 kg
Side lunges with kettlebells 12 kg
Adductor machine 61.5 kg
Abductor machine 47.5 kg
( I think I have those last 2 the right way round....I can never remember!)
A little bit of silliness but fun......here I am demonstrating how to workout with the family ( yes I know upside down, my 19yr old filmed it. You'd think she'd know the difference.)
SSS and Weekly surprise.
This week's weekly surprise was to design a workout....since I want to spend more time with my kids I designed one around that.....
Kipwil's Day at the Park.
This is a workout designed to work your strength and cardio fitness
while you are with your kids at the park. You only need a towel if
you'd like and a park with a bench and monkey bars. Children are
optional.
Type: Metabolic
Level: Intermediate/advanced lean and strong
Warm up (5 mins)
Light jog or brisk walk around the perimeter of the park for 5 mins or until you go right around.
Workout. ( 55 mins to complete all 3 rounds)
Round 1
8x Pushups….on a bench or on the ground
8x step ups onto a platform on the equipment, each leg
8 x jumping chin-ups on the monkey bars
8 x squats…make your bottom hit the bench!
30 sec plank.
Round 2
Run around the perimeter of the park for 5 mins or walk briskly. You
should feel slightly out of breath, able to talk in 3-4 word sentences.
Take note of how many laps you completed in the time.
10 x pushups on the ground, knees or toes
Walking lunges for 10 steps out then turn and 10 steps back, knee to ground
10 x reverse pullups off equipment or bar
10x Box jumps onto a bench or step
45 sec plank
Round 3
Run around the park a little faster than before, try and beat the number of laps.
15 x pushups on knees or toes. Try toes first then go to knees if needed.
15 jump squats
15 jumping chin-ups or chin-ups if you can!
15 static lunges each leg.
60 sec plank
Final Blast (5 mins)
Finish with your fastest run around the park for 5 minutes. How many laps can you do?
Stretch (5 mins)
Hold each stretch for 30 seconds.
Now as for my SSS.......well today was the Melbourne Marathon Festival and I was signed up for the 5.7 km. I've been trying to increase my speed in doing shorter runs but this was not the right run for that. So frustrating with people who walked 3 or 4 across, leaving no room for runners to pass, and block access for runners trying to get through a couple of the bottlenecks on the course. I am going to email organisers and see if they can design a course that is wider and avoids the 2 main bottlenecks that occured under 2 bridges.
But!!!! I ran, in a stop/start/dodge/weave fashion and completed 5.7 km in 32min 30 secs by my watch....which beats my previous training run of 6 km in 35 minutes. When official times and photos are released, I'll be sharing on here! In the meantime....this is before the start......
I wonder which one is me? LOL
Finally, let me leave you with a message from my friends.
I know I posted yesterday but I am FURIOUS. I've heard that because my children, MY children are eating our clean food and wanting to run in funruns that what I am doing is 'almost child abuse.'
So I am being ACCUSED of abusing my children because we don't have junk food or sweet biscuits in the house.
I am furious and hurt and, no well mostly furious. I think the defiinition of child abuse needs to be made clear to this person, because of course, no names mentioned at all. Believe me if I knew your name this would be to your face. So not only do I think you are an idiot, I'm wondering which one of my 'friends' it is. I know which circle it is, just not who. A statement like that cheapens the real trauma children go through when they are abused.
Let's look at some figures shall we?
According to the Australian Bureau of statistics, 65% of children in Australia will be overweight or obese in 2020. Currently we are sitting at around 25-26%. And rising every year.
and they are just 4 years old, haven't even really begun to live. All health risks aside, what about their social life?
And why?
Poor food choices, lack of physical activity and a longer times sitting in front of the television or the computer, learning from overweight parents and a small, VERY SMALL number of rare genetic disorders. Funny, parents can do something about ALL of those except for the last.
So let's see how I abuse my children shall we?
They play in the afternoons after school, go on bike rides, play team sports at their choosing. They LIKE to run around with me or Troy.
They learn from Troy and I. We like to look after ourselves, we enjoy being active and no surprise so do our kids.
They don't have a TV in their room and have a set computer time rather than as long as you like. They get an hour each which they don't usually use all up.
I don't keep biscuits or a lolly jar or other crap foods. But I do have a massive supply of fruit, low sugar and low fat muesli bars, vegetables and dip, etc etc. Are they missing out? No. We keep the 'sometimes foods' for SOMETIMES! Birthdays, Xmas, Easter....we celebrate. You don't need to celebrate the fact it's monday morning with a chocolate donut, or make kids feel loved because you pump sugar in their bodies. They want your TIME not stuff that makes their bodies sick over time.
I don't reward with food. You do something great then we 'reward' with an experience together....go to the movies or we go somewhere special they want to see. They are bushwalk nuts so we go to the You yangs, or Hanging Rock or the Grampians.
I cook clean food meals which we all eat, I don't cook separate meals. And no surprise to me, Miss 8's favourite food is lentil soup. ( Such a hippie LOL) Do they get pizza and burgers? Yep, we make them here. They ALSO get a chance every now and then to go out and have Maccas with friends, or icecream, or pizza. We just don't do it every week, maybe once or twice a month. They still go to birthday parties and eat the fun food. But I'll tell you this....they also CHOOSE to eat healthy options when we eat out...Mr 11 has told us he doesn't like how he feels after eating the greasy crap food.
I can say NO. It's an easy word. Children won't hate you if you don't give them their own way all the time. so NO you can't stay up late, NO you can't have another soft drink, have a water instead.
They have a healthy lunchbox. My kids don't need a side order of chocolate bar in their lunchbox every day, or a handful of lollies. They pack their own lunches....a sandwich or two, 2 serves of fruit, yoghurt, and a muesli bar or dip with crackers or vege sticks.
So there you have it. Such abuse, I should be locked up. I don't comment on others parenting habits because we all do the best we can, right or wrong. But maybe you should have a long hard look at what you are modelling to your children, what you are feeding your children and educate yourself a little more before you start screaming 'child abuse'.
So thanks, thanks for sending me off to work today in such a happy (NOT) state. I can assure you my kids are fine. They are happy and above all, they are HEALTHY. Are yours?
