Following a childhood and adolescence during which I was blessed by natural slimness, despite my distaste for most active sports, I gained weight very quickly during the year I was 21-22, a side-effect of medications I had to take to combat an auto-immune illness. I gained approximately 30 kilos over that time, and have remained overweight ever since, although I no longer need to take the medication that caused my weight gain. So, I'm now fast approaching the date where I'll have been overweight for half my life - not a situation I'm particularly proud of!
I first joined the 12WBT program in Round 4, 2012, after following links from facebook. I committed fully to the program, completed all the pre-season tasks, followed the nutrition and "Beginners" fitness plans, and lost about 8kg in the first 6 weeks. Unfortunately, I then fell off a fitball during a gym class. While funny at the time, the incident caused a case of bursitis in my knee, and meant I was unable to continue with the fitness part of the program. I made the mistake of throwing in the towel completely, and over the past 3.5 years have slowly regained the weight I lost, despite 4 more abortive attempts to re-commit to 12WBT.
In late 2015, a close friend (with a lot less weight to lose than I have!) completed a round of 12WBT, during which she elected to participate only in the nutrition program (her circumstances at the time precluded a commitment to daily gym sessions). Despite not completing the fitness tasks, she lost a substantial amount of weight, which she's kept off to date, and she looks fabulous!
So... this time, I admit I am fuelled by envy. Is that a bad thing? We'll see. I am very happy in my life, but I know I need to lose some weight sooner, rather than later, for my long-term health and to be a better lifestyle role-model for my daughter.
At this stage, I'm concentrating on sticking to the 1200 calorie daily nutrition plan, and incorporating incidental exercise wherever I can. I suffer from fibromyalgia, so I need to be very careful about injuries and fatigue. That said, improving my diet and losing some weight will definitely improve my symptoms, so I have a balancing act on my hands...
My blog "The Duchess's Progress" is intended as a personal record of my journey and a place to reflect upon challenges and successes as they arise. I'd welcome readers' comments and suggestions along the way.
Onward and Upward!
No comments:
Post a Comment