Red Flags Ahoy!!

If you're a fellow 12wbt-er you'll understand what red flags are. In case you're not, a red flag day is what we identify an event or day as, when it's something that will be likely to hinder our commitment and progress on the journey (eg parties, holidays, weddings etc). And so as I look ahead to the next 7-10 days all I see is a sea of red flags... Pretty, but pretty daunting too. 

First up is a trip to Melbourne this weekend. I'm flying down Friday night, and back Sunday night for a work conference. That means missing my regular gym classes Friday and Saturday, but more importantly not being in control of what I'm eating for 2 days. Yikes! And then there's the drinks with colleagues to overcome... 

So I've come up with a plan of attack (and no it's not all my own work). 

• Firstly, I've been up front with the guys from my work who I'm travelling with that I am absolutely NOT drinking with them at either the Friday or Saturday night functions. It always ends badly (for me) when that happens. So I've already told them I didn't want to drink my calories away. They were ok with that, and so now I just have to see it through. 
• Secondly, I've checked out the gym facilities at the hotel - looks awesome! It's on the 36th floor of the hotel! None of this 2 machine gym in the basement. I guess that's what happens at a classy hotel. So I think just so I can say I've worked out overlooking the city, I'm going to give it a go, and just take my SSS workout with me. Although, 70 burpees to start does not sound like fun! Anyway, check out the pictures of the hotel gym here: http://www.sofitel-melbourne.com/en/so-fit.html
• Thirdly, it was suggested to me (by the lovely Emily) to combat overeating or making poor food choices to take photos of what I was eating! What a great idea, and then I can come back here for a good dose of accountability and actually show you what I ate! So, if there's no photos forthcoming you can safely assume I went overboard and am too ashamed to show it!

So there's the plan to attack the conference. I'm also going to be photographing my inspiration board and putting it as the homescreen on my phone to keep me inspired!!

Coming up soon after that is birthday week! Yep happy birthday to me next Wednesday. Now this should be a whole lot easier than the conference since I'm still at home, but my parents are visiting, and that will entail mum insisting on making birthday cake, and we'll probably go out for lunch or dinner, which means making a good healthy choice of what to eat. I should also add that when I was doing the last round I went and visited my parents and they were completely supportive of my food choices, so I know that as far as regular meals go they'll be happy to eat 12wbt style, so that's super healthy! Just have to conquer the birthday cake!!

And looking into the distance... October holds a trip to Sydney for Good Food Month! Red Flags all over the place, but I'll come up with a plan of atack before I go there.

What are others looking forward to as their red flags?? Any other plans for attack??

Weigh in Wednesday...

OK, so it's been just 2 days since I last weighed myself, and this morning I gingerly stepped onto the scales and.... drumroll please... I've lost 900g!!

Amazing what can happen when you put your mind to it. Actually there's a chance my body has completely gone into shock from all the sugar & fat that's suddenly disappeared over the past 2 days. And let me tell you I feel fantastic for getting back on the wagon again! It's such a great feling knowing you're doing something really healthy and beneficial for you body. I just want to fight the complacency that keeps slipping in just when I'm doing well. However, I must say that I was only in that complacency zone for about 4 weeks this time, which for me isn't long, and realistically didn't do too much damage.

And, in the spirit of my 12wbt blog from last round here's some food photos from days 1&2 - I can't believe there are still so many meals I didn't try last round. So here's lunch and dinner from yesterday in before and after shots (check out the size of my red cabbage!). Ham & Salad wrap was lunch, Sticky BBQ Beef with Shredded Slaw was dinner - both tasty, and I'll definitely use that beef marinade again, would be perfect for a summer BBQ - Yum!

And last but definitely not least, a meal I saw many people raving about on the blogs, but didn't try out for myself until last night - Not So Naughty Nachos!!! Oh. My. Gosh. Sooo Tasty - and I totally felt like I was eating treat food. It was much like the moment of eating 12wbt pizza last round, soo tasty, and yet still so good for you. This is a definite keeper.

 So there you have it - this little blogger is back in action and ready to work my butt off (literally!). And I'll be showing off those inspiration dresses in no time at all. And FYI - feeling the soreness after Monday's workout, I have a love/hate relationship with DOMS... Anyone else??

A little bit of Inspiration

So I spent some time shopping in Melbourne over the weekend (on the longest trip home from Adelaide ever...). I got some new things - including a pair of new Brooks Runners for $60!! Yep, I was pretty impressed with that!

 

But more importantly a new outfit (boots as well!!) to wear next weekend at a conference dinner for work...

And a couple of dresses to keep me on the straight & narrow this round leading into summer. I tried them on in a size that fitted and then bought them the next size down!! Looking forward to wearing cute dresses when it warms up.

 

 

During my time in Adelaide I was introduced to Lulu Lemon workout gear... it's expensive, but I'm told it's totally worth it! Lets hope so, cos I bought this top that I want to be able to comfortably wear to the gym by the time winter's gone! Oh and the best bit - size 12 (yeah, OK, so it's Canadian sizing, but who cares, it's a 12!!)

 



Alright, so let me just put it out there... The next time you see these clothes on my blog you'll see me in them too! There's a massive goal, but we're all works in progress, and so I'm looking forward to sharing mine with anyone who's reading along.

Let's start at the very beginning...

Well, here it is - Day1 - Round 3 - 12wbt 2013!! And I've signed up again and ready to handle the thrills and spills of another round. I feel like I've got so many things to put into this blog post, but for the sake of those reading my blog I'll try and contain myself, but you might find many blog posts this week...

 

The past weekend I spent partying it up in Adelaide for the round 2 finale. A good friend and I headed over early Friday morning, shopped up a storm Friday, caught up with fellow 12wbt-ers Friday night, and drank the night away at the best tapas/wine bar in Adelaide (OK, so that's my opinion, it's the best of 1 that was tried, but it really was right up there). So, Saturday was a little slow to get it together. We trekked accross Adelaide CBD to get to the showgrounds for the workout, where we cheered on those in the workout, before wandering back to the CBD. After wandering the afternoon we got all prettied up for the finale - a georgeous set up at the convention centre! All black & white, so it looked very classy. But we did call it a night pretty early, got our goody bags, and headed off for some zzz's ready to leave 7am Sunday.

 

 

 

We had a good flight back accross to Melbourne, but unfortunately neither my friend or I managed to realise we had left her car keys in the hotel room, in Adelaide... and we were now in Melbourne! For some reason, there was no panic, we just took it in our stride, and visited the nearby factory outlets for some shopping while family and friends rallied together to get some spare car keys to us! So, after an 8 hour stopover in Melbourne we were on the road. Back to my friends place by 9:15, and then I was on the road for the last 2 hours, and I finally got home at 11:30pm! What a day!! Funnily enough had we have driven home from Adelaide I would've got home sooner! But, I wouldn't have got some fun purchases and inspiration outfit purchases!! (photos to come) 

 

So, this week's to do list (amongst general life activities):

• Complete Fitness Test & Measure Up
• Revise Goals & Committment
• Work on adding to my Vision/Inspiration Board
• Review previous round's goals/excuses/highs/lows etc

 But right now, I'm off to the gym for my first Lean & Fit workout!! EEK! Nah, really I'm looking forward to it. And I'll be back to post some food photos from day 1!! I love that I'm back eating healthy foods again, my body is so happy with that decision right now!!

 

 

Just 1 week to go!!!

I cannot believe that week 12 of 12wbt is about to start tomorrow!! It has actually gone by so quickly, and apart from weeks 10 and 11 which more resembled the Granville train disaster, I have stuck to the program, learnt a ton of stuff about myself, and am still on track. Wow, what an achievement. And to think that 3 months ago I was quite convinced this program just wouldn't work for me. But now, I've signed up for round 3 and am totally looking forward to what it will bring. 

I've also had a few moments of realisation in the last few days. I've spent a little bit of time thinking about why/how I got so far off track in the past 2 weeks (and let me just out it out there that I'm not fully back on track in the diet just yet...). 

• Firstly, last week was a pretty stressful week for me emotionally. I didn't feel it at the time, but looking back I know that from Friday a week ago until yesterday I was running at a constant level of high emotional anxiety. In recent years there has been a fairly large fracture in my immediate family. So much so that my parents and I had had no contact with my brother and his family. But last week, my mum was able to spend the week with them (they live interstate). She felt nervous and apprehensive about this, but pleased to have the opportunity. However I think that I was really apprehensive that it would all go horribly, and the situation would be worse than before. I was also worried about my dad being at home on his own for the week and how he would cope etc etc. and it wasn't until I spoke with mum yesterday as she was on the way home, that I felt relieved of that anxiety. The visit was over, and whatever that means for us long term is beside the point, but mum was ok, dad had coped fine, and I could relax again. Phew! And so I think a lot of the issues were emotional, and as I have always done I turned to food, and it took me over a week to even realise the connection between my anxiety and my actions. 
• Secondly, I realised that I had not been blogging or journaling or anything during this period of emotional anxiety! And so all my thoughts have just churned in my mind over and over and over, and I gave them no outlet. Instead I gave them food hoping that might just shut them up for a moment. Doesn't work that way! Never has. No, the food just creates some new voices, and then I'm beating myself up for not flexing my willpower muscle... A vicious circle. 

So, with those 2 realisations, I decided to make week 12 a little easy on myself. No, I'm not completely loosening the reins, I'm still completely in with the 12wbt, but I've dedicated this last week to all my favourites! I customised the menu (apart from sweet and sour pork) and I've chosen all my favourite 12wbt meals to eat. And, each lunch is leftovers from the previous dinner, so I don't have to cook both dinner and lunch every night! I'm pretty excited!! There's beef stroganoff, Cajun fish stew, Spanish chickpeas with fish, vegetable and chickpea pies, vegetarian paella... Yum yum yum! Oh, and can you believe there's 2 fish dishes in my favourites! A little confession, I started with 4 fish dishes and culled it down to 2. Another amazing feat from 12 weeks, I now am a fish eater - and I like it! Who'd have thought!

Well, with that I'll leave you all to begin week 12. Go well team! And I've also just watched mish's video on gratitude from last week, so let me express my heartfelt gratitude to all you who read and leave comments on my blog. I am so thankful, I feel as though each of you have been part of my personal support team, and have contributed to getting me to where I am 11 weeks into this 12wbt. Thank you so much! I only hope that I have been a support to you also. 

Week 11 confessional...

Welcome to the transfer/transform confessional... Yes that's right, despite the successes of past weeks, and everyone's encouragement, and my own determination etc etc I have completely slipped up in the past week. I've skipped workouts, I've eaten tonnes of crap - biscuits, chocolate, lollies, chocolate, wine, chocolate, and some more wine.... Argh! Ive made cupcakes, eaten dessert that friends dropped in with, had at least 1 glass of wine most nights, raided both the lollie jar and biscuit barrel at work, I've been buying takeaway for lunch the past 3 days at work, I've eaten in my car (note to self: your car is not your kitchen), and then after all that I visit the supermarket on the way home and find some chocolate, biscuits etc that's on sale and buy some for snacks. And let's not kid around, that's not a list of things I've done throughout a week, sometimes that can happen in 1 day. It's actually disgusting. It happens in secret. I don't tell anyone I do that.  Where did all my good habits go??

It's like I was great on holidays, and then having to settle back into real life, I've completely fallen apart in my 12wbt journey. It's quite disappointing, and especially so because I'm not even feeling as though I'm doing the 'wrong' thing. I'm just a bit whatever about the whole situation, which is actually kinda scary because I know that this is how I've always put the weight back on in the past. Complacency. I've done pretty well so far, I can have a little break... No you can't Sheridan! No. No. No. This is your new lifestyle and you have to get back on the horse and embrace it! (That was my mini effort to rev myself up again) 

So thanks for the positive feedback, comments, encouragement in the past few weeks, but you all need to know that the past week has not been such a triumph. I haven't even taken any food photos this week. And in fact I've decided not to even weigh this week. I know I probably should find out the damage, but I can't bring myself to. Instead it's a change of mindset again tomorrow, back into gear for the last 10 days of this round. And then, you all have my deepest commitment that I am going to smash round 3!

So there you have it. I'm not Wonder Woman. I mess it up too sometimes. But I'm learning (slowly). I just need to get out of this rut, and I'm determined to do it before the end of this round, so that I can jump head first into the next. I'm hoping those of you who blog alongside me are joining up again (although I understand if it's not possible etc). But as a final note... Who wants Emily to update her blog?? Anyone else been missing the regular updates??

Week 10 Update

I've returned from holidays, and over the last few days I've been wondering where I found time to do blog posts! Anyway, here I am again. How hard it is to get back into real life after holidays! I was thankful to not have to work on Monday, and was so thankful to get back to the gym. Such a funny felling, but it was like walking back into my 'home'. I had a great workout Monday - rowed 2500m in exactly 11 minutes.

 

But Tuesday was tough. Having a headache most of the day I still went to the gym, did my weights session but left before my usual RPM class. I felt better for it, but still, it was a little disappointing. It was also Tighten-up-Tuesday (TuT), and while I was all set to go without my coffee, I honestly was almost finished my coffee with breakfast until I realised that I'd just habitually made my coffee while my porridge was cooking! So, I went with it and focused on remembering to go herbal tea at morning tea!

 

So, weigh in Wednesday... +300g... But that's OK, I had a fantastic holiday, and I can smash those extra grams away this week. Ultimately my goal is to weigh under 90kg by the end of the round. It's almost 3kg away, but I'm going to give it my all.

 

I was very happy to get back to cooking the fantastic 12wbt meals this week too! And I've just this week got a a new housemate who is also loving the food! So nice to have someone to share the meals with, and she's been quite amazed at the ease of preparation, and the taste too! So, onto the photos.

 

Berry Smoothie - What a great option for breakfast first day home after holidays. There was a definite lack of food in the house, but there's always some long life milk, frozen berries and muesli, so what to do but make a liquid breakfast? And it was great and tasty! Will try it out again for sure.

 

The Vietnamese Beef & Noodle Soup - I almost swapped this, but decided for the sake of TuT to keep it. It was really flavoursome, and a huge serving (or was that just me?) so it overflowed out of my small soup bowl, hence the need to have 2 bowls!

I have never really got into chickpeas before 12wbt. But, I made hummus during the last couple of months, and have been willing to give them a go. And the vegetable and chickpea pies were great! Packed full of flavour, and really big! The filo went beautifully crispy, and it was all round a winning dish.

 

And finally this week, Lamb Biriyani! Yummo! I was disappointed not to be able to cook this last week due to holidays, so I swapped it for the lamb dish that was in this week. And it certainly didn't disappoint. Super easy and quick to make, and packed with flavour. It got a 10/10 from my housemate - rated even better than the previous favourite vegetable and chickpea pies.

 And so, week 10 is half-way through, leaving only 2 weeks to go in this round. Yikes! I am still planning on signing up again for round 3. But before that there's finale fun in Adelaide! Anyone keen to join the road trip from Wagga??