I am having a rough week. It’s because I have my period. I know this shouldn’t matter, but it does.
I need something to blame for my ample bloating, grumpy mood, lust for chocolate and disinterest in training.
Every time I try to lose weight, the four week mark is my downfall. Delayed by a week, I’m sick of training, had it with eating what I should, and keen for all the bad habits to come out of hiding. And coupled with the fact that I am desperate for an excuse to cut loose, my defences are useless.
Scotty will not be happy, but then again, Scotty wouldn’t get it because he’s a boy. Beyond my resolve, I dipped into the kids’ lolly jar for one measly Crunchie bar but came out with a handful. I ate one after another with total joy.
How could I be so useless after being so good in Melbourne? Desperate for inspiration, I headed to April Loses It on Facebook where many enthusiastic people gather, motivated to lose weight and eager to win a trip to paradise.
The number of people who are on the same journey is overwhelming, each sharing their stories, their aspirations and their dreaded photos.
For example, Angela Beer is someone who has been suffering like the rest of us in her aim to lose 30kg. But she has committed herself to the journey while also being incredibly supportive of everyone who enters the challenge. Another, Caroline Campbell, is the heaviest she’s ever been and is looking to lose nearly 20kg. She says, “It’s time to put some effort into me, not just the kids or my job. It’s time to love me back.”
And that is exactly what this is about – it’s about you! With the collective consciousness of the group, many people are feeling more supported and less isolated. As you will see when you click on to April Loses It, it’s never too late to start shrinking the lard.
In a moment of lightheadedness, I suggested posting a total of all the kilos everyone loses up until the end of our challenge – November 30. I thought we should aim for 1,000,000kg. I couldn’t stop giggling when I told Scotty, but he didn’t seem to think it sounded quite so hair-brained. New Zealand’s global obesity rating is the second worst in the world, so game on! Let’s do it!
Speaking of Scotty, after my little chocolate-fest, I wasn’t looking forward to training. Hoping for clarification and support, I called him to confess my sins and he immediately retaliated with, “I want this to work for you and I want you to have self-discipline and not give into temptation, so I’m toughening up. Get to the park at 6am for a half-hour one-on-one session with me before training. And if you’re late I will add another 30 minutes on.”
As you can imagine, I was mortified. Instead of getting support, sympathy and a physiological explanation for this behaviour, he kicked me with punishment.
Desperate to avoid Scotty’s extra session, I negotiated my butt off. In the end, I talked him down to an extra 10km walk (ankle still sore) and 200 trunk twists. He’s very good at what he does but when he gets a bee in his bonnet, he can be right royal pain and I wasn’t going to be on the receiving end of it!
This week was really hard and it showed at weigh-in. I lost weight but it wasn’t the great effort of past weeks. The 900 grams I lost, however, took my overall total to 8.2kg in five weeks and that’s great!
Scott’s say
Sometimes we need to be told off to achieve our goals. From what I have experienced, supporting through kindness and sympathy can only take people so far. April went against the principles we agreed on and had to understand the consequences. Some might say it’s rough, but once in a while, a good reality check to keep you focused helps motivation levels.
only you can stop yourself sliding down that road of gluttony, and only you must have that determination to not give in. For some motivation, go to www.specforce.com and click on April Loses It. This week is the toughest week of the six-week program – 32km walk or run, 300 squats, 250 lunges, 200 press-ups, 200 bent-over rows, 800 trunk twists and 13 minutes bridge.
If you can achieve these totals, then you are well on the way to changing your lifestyle forever.
Scott Cottier
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