8 Days Until It Starts

It is 8 days today until the Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation challenge starts.   Until that starts there are a number of preseason tasks to complete.  As I started late I have been having to play catch up this week as I had not just this week's two tasks to do, but the four from the previous fortnight.

This week I have been

1. Getting Real 

2. Setting my goals

3. Gearing Up

4. Say it out Loud

5. Kitchen Makeover

6. Organise and Diarise

and next week, the final week of preseason I will have the Fitness Test and Measurement tasks to complete.

I haven't completed all of the tasks yet.  I have done Getting Real - No more excuses, I have set my goals and I have been gearing up, I have been saying it out loud but I am yet to complete Kitchen Makeover and Organise and Diarise.

"Getting Real" 

Is all about excuses, what has been holding you back and acknowledging these excuses.  

I have had many excuses over the years but I think my main excuse is time.  I'm a single mum, I work, I run my own business, I do charity work, it's full on and exhausting and I always have in my head "I don't have time to exercise, I don't have time for breakfast, I don't have time to make a good lunch" It's all rubbish, I do have time in the morning to make myself breakfast, I make sure my son has a good breakfast every day but for myself, I'll just grab a banana or a piece of toast or just a cup of coffee.  I do have time to exercise!  I have time to sit here on the computer and write my blog, I have time to go to different forums, I have time to watch Real Housewives of  NY, OC, BH!  I have time to watch TV, but I don't have time to exercise???  Yes, it's rubbish, I do have time.  It's about priorities and over the years my priorities have become a little out of wack.    

I have this ridiculous thought/excuse that goes around in my head.  Every single time I went to the gym I would be so embarrassed walking in and around in there.  I would think that those super fit looking people were all looking at me, thinking to themselves, there is that big heffalump acting like she is going to work out and get that weight off.  Since I have gained and become overweight over the last 12 years  have always felt too fat to be seen exercising!   Well that is just ridiculous!  But the funny thing is ... when I was not over weight, prior to having my son I had never been overweight.  Up until my 30's I was always a normal healthy weight, sometimes probably a bit thin.  I remember in my early 20's I got up to 58kgs once and I thought I was obese and I went on a massive milkshake diet to get myself back to the 48 to 50kgs that I normally was!  Wow, back then the thought of being 80kgs would have given me a heart attack and to be honest I think back then I would NEVER have thought that I would EVER be 80kgs.

So here I am now where I never thought I would be and I am trying to think back then how I thought, how I felt about what I ate and about exercise.   I have never been one that loves exercise, even at school.  I mean I played tennis, a lot, I was on my school team so would spend many hours on the court but for some reason never considered that exercise.  I hated cross country running.  I loved netball, snow skiing but tennis was my thing.  So I need to find that again.  No more "I'm too fat to exercise"  "I'm too fat for people to see me in workout clothes"  "I don't have time to eat right".

It's funny how I can make sure that others are not like me.  My son exercises regularly, he played Golf yesterday from 8am to 5pm and is out there again today playing 9 holes.  I make sure that he has good, healthy substantial meals and no junk!  Even my dog for goodness sake, he is a Labrador, Barnaby, you can see pictures of him here, he is my walking buddy!  Being a Labrador they are prone to being over weight, if they are overweight they have a whole host of health problems and will not live as long.  SO... I make sure he is on a strict diet and he has never been overweight, he exercises regularly and he is having some arthritis setting in in his hips and the vet said last time.  "It's so good that you have him at such a good weight, he probably wouldn't be able to walk if he was overweight".  

Now how sad is that.  I make sure my dog's weight is good, I make sure he exercises well, there are no excuses for him, I have no excuses at all to make sure he gets what he needs to be fit and healthy and live as long as possible but I do not do that for myself!  For myself I have created so many excuses so that I am overweight, have health problems due to that (high blood pressure, torn artery, sore knee), I don't exercise and I don't look after myself.  It is time that I became as important as my son and as my dog in my mind, that I stop just making their health, well being and lives the most important and only important thing.  In reality I really should be looking after my health and well being just as much as them so that I am round to continue to make sure that they are looked after!

So..... NO MORE EXCUSES!!!!!!