Another round done and dusted!!
Huge amounts learnt, lots of fun had and met so many amazing people. I am so damn proud of myself & all of the amazing 12WBTers I have shared this 12 weeks with. You guys blow me away every freakin’ round!!
I’ve been so focussed on the increased training I have started in recent weeks, flat strap with teaching because it is coming into that time of the semester in University Land and had a few distractions like injuring my wrist and my future MILs cancer surgery (She is AOK!) that I forgot about posting a bit of a wrap up blog during this week.
I posted about my hits & misses a few weeks ago when I last stopped and reflected (note to self: take time to reflect far more often!) – or as Jodie and I have been referring to it: where I nailed it & where I f**ked it.
I am all for ‘keepin’ it real, y’all‘ & laying it out there – the good, the bad and the ugly. I am not a superhero (we just like to pretend at Pain in Paradise bootcamp sometimes). I am just a normal person who sometimes takes on too much and works hard to give it my all. I fall down, I get up and dust myself off. Sometimes I nail it, sometimes I don’t!!
It’s about pushing on regardless – reassessing & readjusting your approach. I adjust my sails. Sometimes you need only small adjustments, sometimes you have to move the sails a bit more.
I’ve come leaps and bounds with overcoming the hip and back injury. In reality it had been a niggling thing for months & months last year – I think from at least April onwards – before it finally planted me firmly on my butt in September. I pushed through pain that should have been a warning. I did a whole round of Lean & Strong with that going on, I can see that *now*. I did not have the core strength or hip stability to repeatedly do some of the things I was trying to do. It’s no one else’s fault I pushed through, I did not listen to the pain and did not tell anyone. Sure – I *could* do stuff but at what cost? My good friend & remedial masseuse said to me “Ange, you may have the strength physically and mentally to do big lifts etc in training but you do not have the ‘chassis’ Hon, you need to build that core more first“. I hear you! Talking to Lisa Curry more recently she backed this up with “It’s fine to have strong arms & legs but if you don’t have the strength in your core it’s pointless“. Could not agree more. My hips and back are so much better – I don’t have pain during training which I had even as recently as March this year. I am putting in the hard yards to work on my core and reaping rewards there.
I have had my first ‘sprain’ – at least I am holding out hope it is just a wrist sprain, not a scaphoid fracture. I am still strapped up as I sit here and type. It’s been frustrating but in reality the ‘old me’ would not have participated in the boxing on the weekend to have been in the situation to fall over and injure it. These things happen – it will heal. In the meantime I am learning to work around and it is heaps better already. I am kind of a little proud of my strapped up wrist – my first ‘sports injury’. Haha. It came with stern words from my physio about not pushing myself too hard when he saw the busted up knuckles & bruise on my chin and the question “Just because you can do something, does it mean it is SMART to do it?” OUCH! Hehe, but I still love him. 
Week 12 Fitness test = awesome! I have been disappointed this week about having a sort wrist and waited til today to do my fitness testing hoping my wrist would be up to push ups, but it was not. Regardless, I gave all the other parts of the test my all and smashed it! Improvements across the board. I know my push ups would have improved to as I have been doing benchmarking testing at the beginning and end of each month in my group sessions with Mase at Zenergy. I improved every month during February, March and April! Getting stronger and faster at push ups on my toes as my core strength improves. One handed push up and push ups with a clap are on my list to tick off this year!!
Measurements are down! The scales have been up a little, down a little, up a little, down a little this round. My DEXA body composition scan shows a small decrease in body fat % and small increase in lean muscle mass since the start of this round. It’s still not where I want it to be but that is not going to happen until I get out of this ‘maintenance mode’, in other words screw down tight on nutrition and increase my training. Now that my back permits it, I have increased my training as of last week when I started back at 5 – 6 days per week and resumed PT sessions. I’d made my intentions of doing this clear to my trainer a little while ago and then was surprised with the offer to become the Fun & Fitness Ambassador for Zenergy… so I think the universe colluded to give me a gentle nudge in what I know is the right direction! I have missed regular training; for the stress busting benefits as well as physical benefits. In the six months of reduced training I have become ‘squishy’ and lost tone / muscle mass. Very keen to get back to where I was in August last year and go beyond that!
Yes, I am sorting out my allergies and intolerances – combination of not enough sleep, really experimenting with foods and getting a bit run down is why I think I’ve had more problems and increasingly over last few months. I really so badly wanted to be able to eat anything and no longer have these intolerances, I experimented and my body said “NO” loudly. It’s taught me that clean eating is NOT about weight loss for me but rather is fundamental to keep my body working properly rather than inflamed, reactive and unwell. I have been so busy with work and study I have not been able to get to the specialist yet but I have eliminated a bunch of stuff from my diet again plus caught up on sleep and it’s working. Really wanted to be able to eat almonds but got a rash and a sore mouth this week as a result of trying to force something that I just cannot do it seems!
Our bodies are perfect, as Mish says, they do what we tell them! During this round the scales went up if I was loose with nutrition, busy & not eating regularly enough and indulging in lots of drinks & meals out. They also when up when I was really crippled with allergies and intolerances, when my body was working to fight that inflammation. Totally logical and expected. And when I ate regularly and cleanly and / or got my training in, the scales went down. Our bodies do what we tell them to!! Mine is perfect – it responds like clockwork to the environment I create for it. I bet yours does to 
Does that cover it? Seems like a long post already! Like I said, another round of learning heaps plus lots of fun and some great results. The main thing that’s been happening for me especially over the last month or so is this period of ‘discovery’ or ‘questioning’ – working out what my goals are, who am I, what do I want from life, where to from here. It’s a process of gaining clarity that I am part way through but can see the light on the other side and some goals and answers are crystallising.
Striving to be the best version of me, setting and meeting goals in all areas of my life and working on improving my health and well being is for life. It is not a 12 week thing. I never has been for me and never will be just a 12 week thing. However, it is really useful to have some frameworks and support to help and 12 weeks can be just the right period of time to commit to reaching set goals. As of last week I committed to 12 weeks of increased training and I am currently setting goals. When the next 12WBT round starts I will do the same thing again, revise these goals and that will actually serve to extend the current plans I have out by another 4 or 5 weeks – I am loving that idea… makes it a constant process of reflection, goal setting and working towards something rather than a stop/start set up.
So HOORAY for me! Hooray for the great results I have had, for the breakthroughs, the light bulb moments, lessons learned and adventures had. It’s been a blast yet again! Rewards well deserved (shoes!!) and I’ll be enjoying some time being pampered over the next week as well as the finale weekend in Melbourne!
HOORAY for all of you – give yourselves a huge pat on the back. You have ROCKED this!!
Looking forward to celebrating the end of the round plus the start of the new one with all of you at both the Melbourne official finale celebrations and here in Brisbane at our unofficial celebrations.
Stay strong, nurture yourselves and don’t forget how awesome you are!
xx Ange
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No photo has been so hard to take as that very first ‘before photo’ in June 2010. I cried and cried. I never intended to show anyone, not even my partner. I was acutely aware how very ridiclous that was – everyone (probably except for me) could see how seveerely obese, unwell and burnt out I was. It’s not like you can hide being fat. You just deny it but you cannot hide it – it shows!!
I bought a new, smaller black bikini from Victoria’s Secret – a treat and something to work towards being able to wear with confidence. It’s tight right now, it doesn’t look so flash. I wouldn’t wear it to the beach (I am yet to wear ANY bikini to the beach in fact!).
