Blogging Competition - I'm Down!

BEFORE

HALF WAY MARK

Well, let me just start off by saying I have seriously been neglecting my little blog baby. And if there's any readers out there, I’m sorry. Life has been a little bit crazy over the last few months to say the least.

Now the event that has sparked this post is that the 12wbt has announced a little challenge, for anyone willing to partake, of writing an interesting blog and nominating yourself, or nominating a blog you enjoy reading. You must make about three posts this week, and then between 1-3 posts every week following until the end of the round (this being week 3). I thought what better timing than this little challenge to get my butt into gear and invest some time into my blog.

Now I thought for my first post I would refresh the scene and talk a little bit about me, why I'm here, and what I have achieved so far.

About me:

I'm Lauren, 26 (almost 27.....EEEEK!!!), living in Brissy, and grew up in Darwin. I moved To Bris on my own when I was 19, for uni. And it's such a great place that I've stayed here building my career as an Accountant. So yes, this time of year is really fun for me......NOT!!

I'm pretty much defacto with my partner - kind of freaks me out when I put it that way. We just moved into a house together so that's pretty exciting.  I'm also a big family and friends person. Love spending time with the family, and try my best to catch up with my close friends as much as I can. Other than that I just enjoy a bit of weekend travel around QLD, reading books, and researching my family tree.

Why Am I Here?

So far I've completed two consecutive rounds of 12wbt. This is week 3 of my third round. I first signed up when I found out both my mum and sister were getting married in 2012 and they both asked me to be their bridesmaid. Wow. At that point in time I was not comfortable being the centre of attention of any kind, let alone also being what I felt was severely overweight. So something had to be done if I was to feel comfortable being there for my family on their special days. I had to figure out how to lose weight, even though I had already tried a few ways. I had known one of my sister’s friends had managed to lose 50kgs doing some online program. What do you know? It was 12wbt. She had lost 50kgs over two rounds!!!! Incredible! I thought this must be a program that works. So I signed up. To date I have lost 17kgs. This makes me a very happy chappy. I’ve progressed alot slower than some of the champions you hear about in the forums and on the facebook page, but that doesn’t bother me. I’m very happy with how far I’ve come, and it is all about running my own race. I have 15kgs to go to get to my goal of 60kgs, and I know I will get there, I am just not sure of when.

What I’ve Achieved So Far:

Even though I signed up with 12wbt purely to feel comfortable about being a bridesmaid, I have gotten so much more out of it, and still have plenty more to gain. I found my passion for life again, and am just a happier person in general. I am slowly rediscovering my confidence again (it disappeared as I piled on the kilos), and I handle stress much more capably. I’ve discovered my love for cooking and learning about flavours and skills in the kitchen.

Shopping for clothes is a breeze these days, compared to watching myself shop for hours in shops I absolutely despised walking into, only to try on the entire shop and walk out with 1 or 2 items that “would do”, even though I thought I looked hideous.

I’ve also pushed myself to the limits and reached fitness levels I would never imagine to have. I began 12wbt barely being able to jog slowly for 30 seconds. I now can jog constantly at 8.5kms/hr for 30 minutes. I have a long way to go, but gosh I’ve come far as well. I never thought I would like running, I always hated it. These days I crave it! If I have a busy or stressful day, all I want to do is get outside and just start running.

I’ve learnt how to say no (most of the time) – to foods, alcohol, and even negative people – that my mind & body just don’t need.

My partner, who was never really very much overweight, has jumped on the band wagon himself once he learnt a thing or two through my program - and lost 10kgs. He's done an amazing job and has really whipped his body into condition. He inspires me now.

And to top it all off I’ve learnt so much from some amazing people I’ve met through all the unofficial South East Qld 12wbt meet ups, and the regulars on the forum. Thank you for sharing your stories and wisdom!