Bloggers Challenge #2 What is health?

So the question for discussion is 'What is health?'

I've never thought about my own definition of health before. So here's what it isn't. To me 'health' doesn't drum up pictures of fit, strong, lean people at all. This seems a bit odd at first, but on second thoughts, it does seem completely okay.  

For me being healthy is having your body function as it should (without any stress brought on by excessive body fat), organs that do their job properly and effectively, skin that's clear, hair that's shiny, and eyes that are clear and bright. On top of this is the ability of the body to fend off cold's, the flu, tummy bugs, infections and the like. And in most circumstances you can get all this from a good balanced diet packed full of essential nutrients your body needs, and enough rest.

Having your head in the right space is also a factor of being healthy, and vice versa. Can you have your head in the right space if the rest of your body isn't healthy? But I'm hoping that will be another topic for discussion.

I'll also add ... you can still have a butt and be 'healthy'! You dont have to have the resting heart rate of a marathon runner to be healthy, you don't have to have low body fat to be healthy, and you certainly don't have to have the guns of a weight lifter (or someone doing 12WBT Lean and Strong!) to be considered healthy.

If you haven't got your health, then you haven't got anything.

Commit to Conquer promise

Following the Commit to Conquer Promise (see From F**ked to Fab)

My Commit to Conquer Promise: 

1). I commit to being (sweet) biscuit free for the 12 weeks of Round 3, 2011. If I do weaken and go back on my word I will make a donation of $10 for every biscuit I scoff to World Vision's Smiles Program :-) that's a chicken and chicken feed to help a family produce nutritious eggs, manure for vegie gardens and offspring to sell for extra income. World Vision's Smiles Program: $10 Chicken and feed. 

2). I commit to being binge free for the 12 weeks of Round 3, 2011. If I do lose my mind and go down the binge-cycle path I will make a donation $50 to World Visions Smiles Program :-) that's a piglet. So fitting! One sow can produce up to 20 babies per year, as well as plenty of natural fertiliser for food gardens. World Vision's Smiles Program: $50 Piglet

Bloggers Challenge #1

1). Describe yourself in 25 words or less. You can get straight to the point - or bring your creativity into play.
33 year old no longer happy just to wait for things to happen.

2). What brings you to 12wbt? Getting fitter? Losing weight? (Gaining weight??) Are you first timer, a repeat offender??
Losing a bit of weight via a healthy lifestyle, my fitness being challenged, and the lovely friendships and support by all involved. I'm a second timer (round 2, 2011 was my first), and already looking forward to 2012!

3). Why do you blog??
The accountability. I'm the kind of person who needs to write things down to make them real.

4). Who is your biggest inspiration in life and why (doesn't have to be weight loss).
My Mum, because she's no longer here to make the most of her's.

5). What things in life bring you the most joy?
Fun and laughter with friends and family. The simple things really. Sunshine on a winters day, good coffee, great days that never seem to end, productive days when important things get done, getting out in nature and being away from the hustle and bustle.

6). What do you think your greatest challenge is going to be this round?
Being away from a normal routine. I'll be away for work on 4 or 5 occasions lasting 7 - 12 days, and including mine camps with copious buffets tempting me at the end of a long 12 hour day of physical work.

7). What are you most excited about 12wbt?
Reaching my goals and knowing I gave it my absolute best. Party time.

8). And what scares the pants off you?
Failing and not ful-filling my goals because I didn't give it my best.

9). Tell me - right now - today - how do you feel about exercise in no more than 10 words.
Couldn't get through the day without it.

10). Complete this sentence - in 12 weeks time - on the last day of 12wbt I am going to be feeling accomplished and well and truly on the path to a healthy lifestyle.

Week 1, Day 1

Well we've started. Day 1 started okay, up at 4:40am for Bootcamp, ate clean, and crashed and burnt around 5 pm with a cold. Bloody fantastic! However, calories were under, and exercise was just under the 500 goal. Now to concentrate on getting better quickly.

What I need to remind myself so I can succeed and make this an enjoyable experience

1. I am my biggest enemy, judge and jury, and really need to take it more easy on myself.
2. I go a little mental in the head if I don't eat often enough (repeat things over and over in my head, tense, agitated, swear like a sailor). Plan to eat small meals more often, but don't graze all day.
3. If I feel like I'm being deprived of something, I'll become totally focused on it. Learn that deprivation isn't a bad thing, and it's not because I'm not allowed to be in control of my own decisions, just that I can't portion control some things, and it's best just to avoid them altogether!
4. Trust the program. Make these 12 weeks easier by giving up the control, it's not loosing control, it's just leaving it in someone else's hands. Don't be so fricken independent.

Reminders from Emazon

Who and what is Emazon? Good question and funnily enough, she can't answer that either. She is the red-headed feisty chick from the first Australian season of The Biggest Loser. Ring any bells? She put contestants in a cage, and stirred them on to fight! Anyway, around 20 Adelaide 12WBTers attended the 'Stand Your Ground' workshop one fine Saturday morning in early August, just before round 2 was due to come to an end. Having no idea what to expect, I rocked up, alone and wondering what the hell I was in for. On the flip side, I was also totally excited to see face to face some of my fellow 12WBTers I'd only interacted with through Facebook.

Emazon got us straight into it. This now blonde, fiesty yet calm, Italian, ultra slim, toned, muscley and someone you knew not to mess with lady, got us thinking, punching, elbowing, reminiscing, until both our bodies and our brains hurt. I think it's fair to say many of the participants got emotional for one reason or another. Emazon stirred us to think about what's happened in our past, who's interfered with our plan in life, I guess in a way, what's gone wrong, why haven't we stood our ground? For me, lots of memories of a special someone who's no longer here, and someone I probably still haven't grieved for properly even though it's been nearly five years. Yep, awesome, 15 minutes into the workshop and I've already got a lump in my throat, on the verge of tears, and sitting right next to my Bootcamp instructor (he's seen me cry plenty of times though!).
 
Lessons learnt, and as Emazon put's it, reminders (and I am recollecting this a few weeks later, so I guess these are the important points that have stuck):

• I know how to defend myself, it's in me already.
• No one I don't want in my personal space should be there. Get out of my face!
• I can choose who's in my life, if there's anyone here who's going to sabbotage me, I can remove them (from my life that is).
• Feather, rock, truck. Feathers being the subtle, gentle hints that somethings going astray. The rocks hit a bit harder, but you still might not get the point. Then the truck hits, and there's no avoiding what's going on. Guess the point is to be so in-tune with your mind, your body, your relationships, to be able to notice the feathers and see what's going on before the truck hits.
• The art of yes and no. For every yes, there's always an equal and opposite no, and vice versa. This one was explained best in dieters terms. Ask yourself 'do I want to eat this?' Is it in line with my goals, who I am, and where I want to be? If you decide to eat that donut, then then your saying no to your weight loss goals. But this question can be asked in so many different ways. Another example direct from Emazon's blog is Saying YES to a day of shopping, cooking and packaging says NO to a week of last minute 'on the run' fuel choices where i may or may not be able to govern its contents. I don't want someone else making my food choices for me. Nice one.
• Heart rate monitors off. Your body doesn't work in numbers, it doesn't know the calories are ticking over, it just know's it's getting fitter, it's getting easier to exercise, and your heart, amongst other things, is getting stronger.
• Try defending yourself with your eyes shut. You can do it. You can feel it. So now try training with your eyes shut. Feel your body.
• Rules are meant to be broken. Thats why a lot of 'diets' don't work. Don't tell someone they can't have it, because that is the one thing they will want, focus on, and waste all their energy thinking about.
• Emazon recommended the doco Food Inc. Of course I went out and brought the dvd that afternoon and watched it. Terrifyingly in your face consumerisim, mass food production on a monstrous scale, treating animals just like any other mass produced product and processing them just like any other manufacturing production line, shocking animal treament, and that's just to summarise. Think cows standing udder deep in their own shit shoulder to shoulder eating mass produced corn, far from a lovely green pasture in the sunshine. Same goes with the chickens in a shed with no light, nothing natural in fact, so pumped full of hormones their own skeleton cannot support their super-sized breasts and drumsticks. And it's just not the animals. Corn, sugar, and soy being genetically modified to produce massive quantities, grow during all seasons, under all sorts of conditions, far from nature. And then to top it off - being genetically modified, and patented by certain companies (i.e. Monsanto) so farmers can't even keep their own seed stock for next year. Go organic. Choose local. Just avoid processed foods for fuck sake.

So what am I here for?

My actions and mindset goals:

1. Be true to myself and fellow 12WBT'ers. No cheating.
2. Eat clean and where there's an option choose organic local produce. Next to no processed foods, especially diet foods full of artificial crap.
3. Exercise, exercise, exercise. This is the fun and easy part!
4. Continue to exercise when I'm busy, overworked, tired and grumpy. No excuses, work does not come first.

My measurable goals:

1. Drop 4 kgs during the 12 weeks, getting me nicely within the healthy BMI weight range.
2. Loose centimetres off those thighs and hips. Tone up and get those muscles showing.
3. Improve fitness tests. 12WBT: all advanced category and at least 1 minute off the 1 km run by the end of the round. Bootcamp benchmarks: 1 minute off benchmark 1, and 30 seconds off benchmark 2. Cobbler Creek trail run: 5 minutes off (without the dogs).
4. Smash the skipping rope challenge (1000+ skips per week, increasing over the weeks, and challenging the skill level required).
5. Complete the 12 km of City to Bay running as much of it as I can.
6. At least four 1000+ calorie Super Saturday Sessions! Acknowledging there are supposed to be 12.
7. Complete some long-distance (20+ km) walks. This will be a good lead up to next years goals!
8. Finish the Westpac building stair-run.