Hi all, I’ve just completed my 12 week challenge under the guidance of mentor guru – Karen Lewis - and she’s asked me to proffer a few motivational words.

I’m not deliberately beating Karen’s drum when I say this – it’s just fact – she really is good at what she does!!! Personally – Karen was essential to my motivation and my success at finishing my 12 week challenge. I could have written up a program, joined a gym, made a bunch of promises to myself – but I was never accountable to anyone (except myself – but that didn’t account for much) – until Karen came along! Her understanding – given that she had done the challenge herself – really made the difference to me. And she was there 24/7 – guiding me, motivating me, reasoning with me (when I was creating excuses NOT to finish)!!!

If there’s one thing I am at the moment it’s MOTIVATED!!! I know it’s difficult to be forward thinking when you’re slogging away for apparently little visual result – but it’s all part of the plan. We all know logically that we don’t wake up buffed… it’s like a dawning… you don’t see it until it becomes glaringly obvious and then whamo! The motivation to improve and maintain focus becomes paramount... and then it’s so much easier.  

My most vehement advice I can give is to just grit your teeth and get through that conditioning phase without questioning it. I have to say I loathed it… I questioned it on every level… moaned and complained – and it made the journey so much harder. Don’t let emotions get in the way… you almost need to be robotic about your training and nutritional commitments. This phase is not about gratifying your expectations… it’s about doing the grunt work.  As they say – suck it up princess!

The other issue I struggled with was consistency. If I was tired, emotional, had a rubbish day at work, was getting grief from the husband or the children – it gave me a reason NOT to train. I had to really focus on separating that routine with the emotions I was feeling at the time. Karen really helped me with this. Being accountable really helped me. I was too ashamed to tell someone that I just couldn’t be bothered… I was too tired, I was grumpy, I had my period… excuses, excuses, excuses… I knew what she’d say! Get off that butt and get going!!! So I preferred to just do the job and tick the boxes – the upside being a great sense of achievement. And you know – once the routine was fulfilled I never once said ‘God, I regretted that!’. It always amazed me how great I felt AFTER a workout despite feeling so awful and unmotivated prior! I would also reward myself – my inner voice would say ‘if you do this you can have a bubble bath for 2 hours!!!’ or ‘If you do this you deserve a swathe of trashie magazines from the supermarket to read IN the bath AS WELL!’. If I was being particularly intrinsically difficult I would reward myself with clothes or beauty treatments. Anything but food and wine – which would have been the reward in another life time!

So here are my DO’s and DON’T’s for the IBO trainee:

DO…

DO listen to your trainers and mentors!  
DO ask plenty of questions
DO vary the motivational tools – like iPod playlists, venues, environments – to keep your cardio and resistance workouts interesting
DO purchase a heart rate monitor to effectively monitor your fitness progress. All these tools are beneficial to give you that true indication of impending success!!!!!!
Do get yourself some motivational DVD’s – for instance, I bought a bunch of Spinerval and Runerval DVDs to motivate me on my spin bike and treadmill at home
DO Reward yourself ALL THE TIME (we’re not talking champagne and chocolate here though)
DO get yourself a training buddy (that is reliable of course)
DO surround yourself with motivated and inspirational people that understand your goals and genuinely celebrate your achievements. I deliberately avoided people who  whined ‘life’s too short to be THAT strict’… or 'you’re focusing waaaay too much on yourself honey’.  They were clearly intimidated by my goals and I didn’t need to listen to criticism.
DO stay organized – especially helpful when life chucks you a curveball!
DO Keep a motivational diary or scrapbook – cut out and add helpful hints, recipes, motivational pictures and quotes. Also great to keep for posterity.  
DO Read and educate yourself. The IBO website, recommended reading via the website and the plethora of information out there on the net should suffice. Just remember to use reliable sources of material (not New Idea, for instance).
DO Get plenty of sleep
DO listen to your body. If you get injured it’s not the end of the world….

……AND THE DON’T’s……

DO NOT jump on the scales every day
Do NOT miss meals – it will decrease your metabolic rate AND may evoke some hideous binge you can’t control!!!
Do NOT guess your portion sizes… get those kitchen scales out
DO NOT go nuts on diet beverages – some of them DO have a carb content (ie: Bundaberg Diet Ginger Beer)
Do NOT stop if you find yourself falling off the wagon
Do NOT create excuses!!!!!
NEVER start a sentence saying ‘One won’t hurt….’ – either practice a zero tolerance to foods your abstaining from to achieve your goal or relegate it to your free meal.
Do NOT feel sorry for yourself…..this is an AMAZING JOURNEY TOWARDS THE MOST POSITIVE CHANGE IMAGINABLE!!!!

Finishing this challenge has been a phenomenal achievement for me – one that’s afforded me not only greater self esteem, increased energy and a higher level of motivation but an enormous sense of relief! Usually this time of year is panic time for me – I’m on a perpetual pre bikini crash diet (as we all are) and not doing much else. Well – all the hard work is done and I’m feeling amazing! THERE IS NO DOUBT IF YOU STICK WITH THIS IT WILL WORK! SUMMER IS ON OUR DOORSTEP – HOW LUCKY WILL YOU BE, BEING ABLE TO TURN UP TO THE XMAS PARTIES ETC LOOKING AND FEELING GREAT – LET ALONE THE BEACH!!!????? Thanks to all the training you’ll be keeping the internal furnace stoked up with plenty of exercise so the metabolism is optimal… and your nutritional commitments will also be optimal – underpinned by 12 weeks of habit-changing moderation that has afforded you an amazing outlook on life! You will be able to enjoy the impending summer with ease and enjoy the odd splurge without feeling like you’ve ruined you're life!

I have no designs to do triathlons, reach mountain peaks or swim huge distances. Going forward I just want the peace of mind that my life is no longer dictated by the miseries that come with perpetual crash dieting, binging and self hatred. Being fit affords me freedom of choice and a sense of empowerment. I just want to live a happy life – feel fulfilled, confident and know that I am continuing to be the best I can be. This 12 week challenge catalysed that change for me. I couldn’t be happier!  xxx

Congratulations for taking this step…..it WILL be worth it!