babblingbandit.me does Droptober: It was all about the food

One of the best things about registering for Droptober - Just lose 2kg has been the return of my cooking mojo (for pictures see here). When I came home from London five years ago I lost it. I wrote about it back in 2010 so this has clearly been a long term issue. My cooking mojo has come and gone since 2007 but mostly I have been a lazy eater. Especially this year.

Back when I was working the usual Monday to Friday I always spent half my afternoon (if not more) thinking about what I would cook in the evening for dinner. I looked for recipes online or in my many cookbooks and then I picked up anything I needed from the supermarket on the way home. Preparing and cooking food was a way to wind down after a big day at the office. I loved it.

Post my break down in 2007, as my interest in food waned my waistline expanded - weird, right? You'd think I should have lost weight if I didn't care about food any more. But I replaced my drug and alcohol addictions with chocolate, lollies and cake. I ate whatever was easiest: cheese and crackers for dinner, or pizza delivery or greesy Chinese takeaway or coffee and biscuits. Lots of high fat and sugar loaded, low nutrition food.

I tried Lite n Easy, Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers. None of them inspired me to feel any love for fresh fruit and veggies. I even discussed it with my old psychiatrist: Why don't I care about cooking and eating well when it used to be such a part of my daily routine? She thought I might have an association with the whole preparing/cooking/eating ritual with having a glass of wine or four. But I didn't think that was it. Before I lived in London, I never drank during the week and I was cooking most nights then. There had to be more to it.

Now most of my family are watching their weight in the lead up to summer. Even my parents have a plan to get back on the weight loss bandwagon starting from 1 November. Yolanda was trying to give our mum a pep talk the other day to get her psyched. Yo told mum all she had to do was the following, for just one month to see what happens:

1. Quit all sugar
2. Stop eating butter and cheese
3. Eat red meat only once a week
4. Walk every day

That shouldn't be too hard. Yo didn't say she had to count calories or write down what she ate and calculate points or go to the gym. But our mum, the retired chef, exclaimed: "I'll just have to lose interest in food!". Now that is a weird theory, for sure. It makes the assumption that if you want to lose weight you can only eat boring food not worth having an interest in. I know, and I bet you know, that is so not the truth!

Personally, I believe the opposite and participating in Droptober has helped me realise:

When I feel good and care about myself, when I 'heart my body' and want to treat it right, my love affair with cooking and eating good food is reignited. 

The colour and vibrancy, the smells, textures and tastes of fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and nuts, seeds and legumes and grains... become alive again!

How good does this look? YUM!

So here I am, on the evening of the last day of Droptober. As of this morning I am DOWN 3.5kg since the beginning of the month, far exceeding the Droptober goal of losing just 2kg but 2.5kg short of personal goal of 6kg.

But I have achieved a HUGE amount:

I have gone 40 DAYS without a single bit of chocolate

I have been (almost) sugar free for 40 days

My mood has been stable for the whole month (minus 48 hours last weekend)

My energy levels have been high

The headaches I've been suffering from for YEARS have completely disappeared

And, last but by no means least, I have raised $330 (as of this evening)
for the Droptober charities Variety - The Children's Charity and Kid's for Life.

How good is all that!

Rather than singing yeehah and gorging on the nearest bit of chocolate I'm on to the next challenge: Sarah Wilson's "I quit sugar pre-Christmas program" and the BB sugar experiment continues. Plenty more on that to come.


V.

babblingbandit.me does Droptober: The home stretch

Only three more days left of Droptober - Just lose 2kg. This month has gone so quickly, like I wrote earlier this week, it has flown. As the 31st rolls near I can feel my rock solid resolve to lose weight and get healthy start to waver ever so slightly. I felt the addiction centre of my brain, which has always had such control over me, try to bully the tiny, but growing willpower sector. If there was a chocoholics anonymous meeting nearby, I'd go. I need someone to place their hands on my shoulders, look me in the eyes and say: you can do this.

Maybe I should just look in the mirror and say it to myself: You can do this Vanessa!

I've been feeling a bit iffy these last few days. I can't quite put a name to it. Not physically off but mentally out of kilter. The morning I woke up and wrote about how I heart my body I felt great. More than great: hell, I posted a frigging picture of myself in my undies on the world wide web for all to see. There's no way I would have done that a few months ago. Probably not even last month!

Friday morning, I'd literally just woken up, my eyes still puffy from sleep and my hair boofy from rubbing against my pillow through the night. I had no makeup on, no product in my mane and I felt natural and healthy and happy and satisfied with myself and my body. So I took the snap, wrote the piece and clicked on that publish button with only a hint of doubt about what I was doing.

By Friday afternoon that awesome buzz of confidence and happiness started to fade and I don't know why. It might have been from spending the morning with Noo who started every sentence while we were out with "Mummy, I want". It might have been because I had made a commitment to help some people in the afternoon but cancelled at the last minute. It might have been because my parents were back in the city for a week. Or it might have been because I broke my sugar ban by finishing off Noo's Killer Python therefore adding pure candy sugar to my diet for the first time in weeks, making me feel guilty as well as kind of disgusting.

I blame you Killer Python!
Photo source

The morning before I saw Shrink for the first time in about six weeks. It had been great to have such a break from the never ending navel gazing that is self analysis. When I walked into his office I felt terrific and I kind of wondered to myself why I was there. I would only talk with him about what had been going on in between appointments - the superficial stuff. I didn't want my great mood brought down by dragging out and picking apart the past.

We talked about dating and dieting, about my medications and my upcoming appointment with another psychiatrist to get a second opinion on my ADHD diagnosis. I told him that although I'd been dating a few blokes, I didn't think I'd found the elusive Mr Right just yet.

The thing is, I'm not bothered that either of guys I have been dating are not The One. I've been enjoying their company and I've really loved getting to know some new people. Challenging myself to push out of my usual comfort zones (eg ProBlogger Event and the online dating experiences) have been very confidence boosting. My diet has been fantastic (except for aforementioned Killer Python) and my three day pseudo juice detox I mentioned the other day helped me drop another kilo.

So why has my mood shifted down a notch?

Time for some more analysing? Or wait til it passes?

I want to feel naturally high on life everyday. I want to feel contentment and satisfaction and love and patience and gratitude. Every. Single. Day.

But I want never gets, right? At least that is what I tell Noo.

Over these remaining 72 hours of Droptober I pledge to do the following:

• Keep away from sugar and chocolate and keep to my healthy low carb, high protein diet.
• Exercise at our gym every morning on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Drink lots of water.
• Stay positive.
• Have fun.

Are you an over analyser like me? Is that even possible? Do you find you can feel so good one minute and then seemingly out of the blue feel down? Or at least a bit sideways?

I hope you have had a great weekend wherever you are and that you start the week tomorrow with a smile on your face.

And don't forget it is not too late to throw a couple of dollars in the direction of Variety - The Children's Charity through my Droptober page.


V.

I heart my body... but it's taken a long time to get here

I heart my body.

There! I've said it.

I heart my body.

Hmmm, feels strange to say. Like trying on a new pair of swimmers. Not sure if it fits right away.

I heart my body.

This wasn't true until recently, very recently. In fact, I've always actively hated my body. It has been the main source of a lifetime of feeling defectiveness and shame.

I heart my body.

It feels so good everytime I type out those letters.

I heart my body.

My knock knees, my gummy smile, my rough and bumpy skin, my tuckshop arms. Even my belly which has been an enemy of mine for so long. But now we're friends! Best friends.

I heart my body!

Despite all I've put it through. The thrashing with booze and drugs, the disrespect I showed it with my promiscuity. My body is still working. It still holds me up, moves me from place to place.

I heart my body!

Even when I was at rock bottom and my mind was broken my body made my son. It took in those tiny cells, accepted them, nurtured them and allowed them to grow and thrive. My body gave me life. My baby. My saviour.

I HEART MY BODY!

I'll shout it from the hilltops!

This body is mine. I will radically accept it for all its flaws. I will love it and treat it with respect and acknowledge it for all it gives me and will continue to give me until the day I die.

Here it is. My body. I heart you.

[photo removed]

V.

babblingbandit.me does Droptober: 8 days to go

I just cannot believe it is the 23rd of Droptober already! Where have the last 22 days gone?

There were four days in Melbourne for the ProBlogger Training Event 2012. We also had my mum's birthday lunch on the first Saturday of the month. Um... what else? Looking after Miss Mala Moo, my beautiful niece. Several dates. Playing with Noo. The odd spot of blogging...

It catches up alright! 

Now there are only eight days left until Droptober is over. I'm feeling the pressure to drop this weight in time. I started off really well and between when I registered on 24 September through to one week into the month, I was down 2.4kg. Awesome start! I've had two training sessions with the lovely Mike Jarosky and I've done as much incidental exercise as I possibly can. 

My eating has been better than it has been in a very long time: I'm 29 days chocolate free and, except for a few minor slips, I've been completely sugar free. I've continued to eat fruit but only around two pieces a day. I've pretty much stuck to three meals a day with either a piece of fruit or a handful of raw nuts for a snack.

Some of the yummy whole food I've eaten during Droptober - Just lose 2kg!

Despite all this exemplary behaviour I haven't lost any more since that first weigh in. Yo, my sister, keeps telling me I look good and should stop weighing myself. But when the numbers on the scale go down it gives me motivation! I thrive off watching those digits get smaller and smaller. But they're not helping me while they hover around the same place.

Why are they torturing me? Why aren't I losing this weight? 

You know, I don't think I'd feel bad about the numbers on the scale if it wasn't for the pressure of Droptober and the want to lose weight as promised to my sponsors (don't forget it isn't too late to sponsor me too! It is all for charity!). But on the other hand, if it wasn't for Droptober I wouldn't have this rock solid commitment to keep pushing past what I see on the scales to keep up the good eating and exercise.

So with just over a week left I am reinforcing my commitment to change by undertaking a three day juice detox. Yolanda and her husband are in it with me which helps enormously. We're living on mostly veggie juice for three days with only one light meal a day. Fingers crossed this is the kick start my body needs to start dropping the kegs again.

Wish me luck! 

How do you stay motivated when trying to lose weight?

V.

Linking up with Jess for #IBOT

ProBlogger Training Event 2012: The conference, the people, the outfits

Finally I am back in front of my laptop and a Blogger new post page. The last week has been a whirlwind of activity: packing, travelling, conferencing, meeting, eating and more. In so many ways travelling to Melbourne for The ProBlogger Training Event was one of the best things I've done in a long time.

Flying to Melbourne and attending a conference on my own got me out of my comfort zone and made me smash down boundaries that I'd had surrounding me for most of my life. Meeting new people has always been something I've had difficulty with, and in fact, I used to actively avoid it. You know what I mean: walking up to a stranger and saying hi. Small talk. Relating to people face to face at a party without half a dozen alcoholic beverages on board. It is hard! But I did it.

Here's what happened.

The conference

Some great presenters at #PBEVENT and @problogger Darren Rowse in a school dress
Afternoon tea delights that I resisted for Droptober!

Bloggers of all types descended on Etihad Stadium for two days of networking, inspiration and learning. We all came for different reasons with different goals. Most of us bloggers lucky to have attended will write a post conference blog post. Rather than me going over the details again, here are some of my favourite posts from sites I didn't know about until now:

bluewiremedia.com.au The Best 9 Things I Learnt at ProBlogger Event

This is an excellent, easy to read rundown of some of the important lessons from both days at the conference. It is particularly useful to me because the author, Adam Franklin, went to some of the talks that I missed. I particularly like the point he learnt from Chris Guillebeau that blogging is 50% connecting/50% creating or curating content. Makes me feel less guilty about 'wasting' time on Facebook and Twitter.

asseenin.com.au 5 things I learnt from the ProBlogger Training Event

Clear and concise with an emphasis on the ProBlogger Event theme that from little things big things come: even if you're starting off small or you are an introvert, by just focusing on building your brand, being true to yourself and giving it just 15 minutes a day you too can make something big.

copyrightmatters.com.au 20 small #PBEVENT actions that will make some big goals happen

This is another great piece with a different take on the information provided. Belinda has taken away the core message to take action with this awesome list.

The people

From top left clockwise: bricks+clicks, A Cajun Down Under,
The Crafty Mummy, babblingbandit.me, Diet Schmiet 

When I arrived at the Alto Hotel I immediately recognised my first uber blogger as she was checking in. Kerri Sackville looked exactly like she does on her press photos: very attractive and immaculately put together. Just like when I met some other big name bloggers at Blogopolis earlier in the year, I was a little star struck. I think I even stuttered a bit when I introduced myself in the lift when we were making our way up to our rooms. But at least I had the guts to do that!

My chief goal for the two days was to meet people and meet people I did! Some of the cool bloggers I met included:

Deb at Diet Schmiet - Deb and I have been online friends for a while so I was really pleased to finally meet her in the flesh. She was the life of the party and quite the little matchmaker, bringing together bloggers who wanted to meet one another.

Tonya at Crafty Mummy - Lovely person. Really approachable and friendly.

Travis and David at Tackle Nappy - These two are daddy bloggers! Very friendly blokes indeed. We had some interesting convos at both the conference at at the networking dinner.

Christy at A Cajun Down Under - I was really glad to meet Christy. I generally love Americans and Christy is no exception. We escorted each other back to the hotel after our big night out at the Friday night networking cocktail party. I'm really glad to have found her blog too. There's some great recipes in there!

Dorothy at Singular Insanity - Dorothy is a fellow sole parent, raising not one but two boys on her own and I take my hat off to her. She is fiesty and passionate, despite all that she has been through. I really loved meeting her at the Friday night cocktail party.

Michaela at Five Frogs on a Blog - Hilarious woman. Just read her #PBEVENT wrap up at Badly behaving cutlery, shark penises and broken moustages. Or check out this picture (enough said, no?):

Funniest blogger at #PBEVENT

The outfits

I did my best to put a bit of effort into my outfits for my trip to Melbourne. Aussies all know Melbourne is the fashion capital of Australia. I didn't think my usual uniform of black leggings, t-shirt dress and Converse would cut it somehow.

Day one at the conference I wore this ultra comfy black Virtu dress, paired with orange beads (also Virtu) and some super cool (in my mind anyway) Pamela Mann designer tights. 

For the networking party I went for this Marco Polo black and white striped dress I bought last year but have only worn twice before. The rose necklace I bought at a really cool shop along King Street Newtown in Sydney. Wish I could remember the name of it so I could link in here. 

The boots I wore are from Camper and are the most expensive shoes I've ever owned! I felt great all weekend and was particularly pleased with my Virtu purchases. And there's nothing like a bit of shapewear underneath to keep all the lumpy bits in position.

I took so many clothes, shoes and handbags with me but only wore a fraction of them. Totally ridiculous but it is always good to have options!

What did I learn?

So, what did I learn at the conference? As far as blogging and how to monetise the babblingbandit.me, I didn't actually take in a lot if I'm honest. I have to go over other bloggers posts as well as relisten to the audio (which you can too with a Virtual Ticket) to absorb the more practical lessons from the two days I spent at Etihad Stadium.

I did however learn that I am not as shy as I think I am. That I can talk to relative strangers and not fall apart with embarrassment. That despite my ongoing issues with anxiety I can test my limits and build my confidence by doing so.

I learnt that as much as I love my son, every parent needs a break every now and then, for their own sanity as well as to be the best parent they can be.

I learnt that while meeting new people is hard, I am very good at holding on to long lasting friendships that I know will last a lifetime no matter the distance. Catching up with some old mates while in Melbourne made me feel so happy and extremely lucky and grateful that these people, even after five or even 10 years apart, are still a part of my life.

Did you go to #PBEVENT? What were your highlights?

V.

ProBlogger Training Event 2012 has me heading south again

There's three sleeps until I fly to Melbourne for the 2012 Problogger Training Event. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. Not only will I be going to Melbourne for the first time in years to learn more about blogging but I'll also be catching up with some old friends, as well as visiting a city that holds a very special place in my heart (cliche but true).

I'll never forget the night mum and dad took my sister Yolanda and me out for dinner and told us we were moving from Sydney to Melbourne. I was in year 10 and about to turn 16 and Yo was 13, going on 25.

It was such a pinnacle moment in our teenage lives. We'd lived in Sydney since I was two years old. Our family home in Newtown was a haven and I'd already changed school so many times (three nursery schools, four primary schools) that the last thing I wanted to do was to move to a new secondary school. For a kid that didn't make friends easily the thought of moving to an entirely new state was pretty bloody daunting, if not life shattering really.

Me: The year I moved to Melbourne
as a 15 year old

After spending most my primary school years with one or two good friends at a time, by 1990 I finally found myself in a group. These girls were great friends and we remained that way for years after I left Sydney - in fact I'm still friends with some of them. We were also hanging out with a group of boys which made that time very exciting indeed. Until of course I found out we were being moved away and had to start all over again.

Although both cities are in the same country (obviously) they really are very different. The rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne is well known. From my first day at my new school I was asked which city I prefered. Like I was going to switch my allegiance from Sydney within a three days of arriving south of the border. Yeah, right. All I'll say is both cities are great. They are different and each has their positives and negatives.

The transition actually went really smoothly for me. As far as I can remember anyway. I had to move down a year before my parents and my sister otherwise my senior years would be split between the New South Wales school system (Higher School Certificate) and the Victorian Certificate of Education. So off to boarding school I went.

Before you get images of dorm rooms and strict rules and regulations it was actually really fun. Just like one big long sleep over with all your mates. I was a really, really shy teenager so it was a massive challenge for me. I yearned for my family and friends back home. And of course, for Sydney. I wrote unsent letters to my parents about how sad and lonely I was. I drew maps of Newtown and of my home. Eventually I made friends. Good friends. It is hard not to when you live with a stack of girls 24/7. You got to talk to the kids around you sometime.

The year later the rest of the family moved down and I became a daygirl for my final year of high school. My sister struggled more with the move initially but it didn't take her long to get in with the cool crowd. She's always had a knack for that.

The move for my mother was probably the hardest. I won't go into details here. This is my story and I'll respect my parent's wishes that I keep it that way. Let's just say she moved back to Sydney at the first opportunity...

Together, our family lasted in Melbourne until 1995. My mum and sister moved back as soon as Yolanda completed her VCE and dad and I about six months later. We gave Melbourne our best but it wasn't meant to be forever. We are Sydney people when it comes down to it.

Unlike the rest of the family, and much to everyone's surprise, I moved back again in 1998. I relocated for love this time. That lasted two and a half years and even though my relationship ended and I came back to my hometown of Sydney, my fondness for Melbourne has never waned.

Which brings us to the present day: The 2012 ProBlogger Training Event has me flying south once more. And I couldn't be more excited! Not only will I be learning new stuff and meeting new people but I'm so excited about seeing some of my friends from high school. I'll also be catching up with a mate from the later period I was a resident.

This really is going to be one top week!

Much more on Melbourne and ProBlogger 2012 to come.

V.

babblingbandit.me does Droptober: Week 1 round up

If you follow babblingbandit.me on Twitter or Facebook or you've read this post about my failed attempts at losing weight in 2012 or you've read this post about me finally getting inspired, you will know that I'm currently undertaking Droptober - Just Lose 2kg.

And guess what?

It is working!

I had a sneaky jump on the scales on Friday (even though I usually only weigh in on Mondays) and discovered I'm down 2.5kg since last Monday 24 September. How awesome is that! I'm finally back on the weight loss bandwagon!

All I've done is cut out sugar, cheese and reduced my serving sizes. I've become more conscious about incidental exercise so have taken all the physical options: take the stairs instead of the lift, walk instead of the car, that type of thing.

The next step is to raise the intensity.

On Friday I did my first training session with Mike Jarosky, the founder of Droptober. It was awesome. Hard and a bit nerve racking at first, but still awesome. I hadn't done a proper workout since about March and was a bit worried about my lack of form. It didn't take long until we were right into the session. Mike pushed me just hard enough. He wasn't scary or intimidating like some trainers I've had in the past. And he explained and demonstrated each exercise clearly and helped me when I needed it.

The session went like this:

2 minutes uphill walking
15 back pulls
15 swiss ball squats
15 push ups
20 second plank
15 curl-press
10 step ups each Side
500 metres on the bike

After going through this circuit three times we walked back in the direction of my place and hit the steep steps from Hickson Road to Kent Street. Dead Man Steps they should be called. First time we went up, I thought I actually might pass out. When I was told I had to do it again straight away, I nearly fell over. But I did it. And it felt great.

Very flushed exercise glow after first intensive workout

Food is another area that has improved hugely since signing up for Droptober. I'm becoming more interested in healthy food again, with cooking and being active in making healthy food choices. I'm becoming more present to my body sensations so I'm only eating when I'm actually hungry, not snacking constantly through the day on shit.

My warm veggie, tuna and farro salad

My brother's prawn and salad Vietnamese summer rolls

Seven days into Droptober and I'm kicking goals. The weight is coming off and I'm feeling great.

I'm very pumped for what next week has in store. It will be a challenging week full of temptation as I'm heading to Melbourne for the ProBlogger Conference which I'm very excited about. More on that soon!


V.


Disclaimer: This isn't a paid sponsored post, although Mike Jarosky has generously given me his time to train me for one hour. All opinions are my own, as always.

My week according to Instagram

Here it is! Another seven days of Instagram magic:

From top left to right: Noo and his bush cousins, Noo on the teacup ride at Darling Harbour, Uncle Cal, Aunty Yo and Cousin Mala, Noo getting wrastled by the bushies, Aunty Yo and Mala, me and Noo in the car, weird art at the old CUB site, cakes I resisted eating, me and Yo and our beautiful babes, Yo and Mala, Noo on the way home from preschool, iPhone 5 battery life sucks, my mum and Mala, the never ending pile of washing, the Aussie flag at the foot of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Linking up with Tina at Tina Gray Dot Me.


V.

Wordless Wednesday

Kicking arse with Droptober

Noo and I are so lucky to live near Observatory Hill

That's the last time I was $3 on a soft serve! Especially when I can't eat the leftovers

My love

My number one love

Never gets old

Perfect 'where you stood' pic for #FMSPHOTOADAY

The truly divine Miss M

Linking up with Trish for Wordless Wednesday at

Single mother's guilt

My life has all of a sudden got really busy: I'm working for the first time in nearly five years; I'm blogging and social networking as much as I can in order to maintain this space; and, of course, I'm a sole parent to my awesome almost four year old boy.

My day usually starts at around 6.30am when Noo arises. Three days a week Noo goes to daycare, which he loves, and I go to work as my niece's nanny. On the four days Noo is not at preschool we go on adventures out and about in Sydney or play at home. My day with kids does not end til around 8.30pm when Noo goes off to sleep. That's when I get on the computer and do blog stuff until about 11.30pm.

Now I've gone and thrown dating into the mix. And it is really time consuming!

Dating when you're a single mum is tricky on so many levels:

1. I've got to tell the family that I'm getting back 'out there' via an online dating service so there's absolutely no privacy
2. Once I've done the email thing and progressed to the 'let's meet up' phase, I've got to find a time that suits not only me and the guy, but also either my parents or sister to look after Noo so I can go out
3. I've got explain to the person I'm on a date with that I have a child but at the same time limit talking about my kid because that is generally considered boring dinner conversation even though said kid is at the centre of my world
4. When things go beyond the first date I need to explain to Noo that I've got a new 'friend' that I'm spending time with, time that I would otherwise be spending with him
5. I've got to deal with the guilt of spending time with people other than Noo
6. Deciding when it is appropriate for me to bring to the two together is tricky but more on that another time.

This is when the single mother's guilt kicks in. And it has been costing me a fortune. 

Every time I've gone out I've either bought Noo a new toy to play with while I'm out or promised to take him shopping for a new toy the day after my date. I know it is ridiculous. I am allowed to date. I'm allowed to have a life outside of being parent. I'm allowed to spend time with other adults. Knowing this doesn't make me feel any less guilty.

Lego loving

Lucky for me, a couple of weeks ago when my sister and I were doing a pilgrimage to Eastgardens, Yo suggested we go check out the toys at Big W. Because there are no Big W stores closer to us in the city, we occassionally make the trek to Pagewood because we love their kids clothing range and Noo loves the toys.

Yolanda said she'd like to buy Noo a surprise toy for when he was going to stay at their house on the Friday night. I had a hot date all lined up but Noo was already being a bit disagreeable about having to spend the evening away from me at his aunty and uncle's house.

Noo's Uncle Callum is a big fan of Lego games so what better toy to get Noo than a new box of Lego!

The night turned out to be a fabulous success, both for me on my date and Noo spending the night with his aunty and uncle and cousin Mala!

V.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post but all opinions are my own. See my disclosure page for more details.

Linking up for the first time with Jess for #IBOT

babblingbandit.me does Droptober: day 1

So here we are:  Monday Droptober 1st!

I'm totally pumped to get this thing going and make Droptober a massive success. Since I signed up last week I haven't made any serious changes to my diet or exercise. All I've done is cut out chocolate, lollies and cakes for a week and I can already feel things starting to change. I've lost 1.2kg already! Not only has my weight started to go down, but my commitment is growing with every day I get through without sucumbing to temptation.

With today being Monday the 1st, what better way to start Droptober than by meeting up with the founder of this awesome initiative: Michael Jarosky.

Mike is a really great guy. He is friendly and oozes enthusiasm. We met down at King Street Wharf and both marvelled at what a beautiful Sydney day it was. A great day to be out and about and exercising! Well, at least we were talking about exercising.

I thought I'd catch up with Mike to get some inspiration to get myself started. We know how many times I've jumped on and off the weight loss bandwagon this year. This time the only option is success. Even if I just drop 2kg. But I'm seriously gunning for more.

Inspiration is an important theme for Droptober and in his first blog post Mike discussed it here. He talks about some amazing people who have achieved some amazing things despite the odds, but I got inspired simply by having a chat with this guy who is trying to make a difference by motivating people like me to look at their lifestyle, make a few changes and raise some money for charity in the process.

First question I asked Mike was what was his light bulb moment that made him realise that he needed to make some serious changes to his lifestyle. Because Mike has been here too: overweight and under exercised and living a shitty lifestyle that was only making him extremely unhealthy.

The epiphany came when he woke up drunk, after passing out on his lounge room floor, to find a half eaten 12 inch sub by his side. I laughed, remembering doing the same when I was still a drinker and child free. Although for me, it wasn't a sub, it was a half eaten Quarter Pounder stuck to the inside of my doona. Gross.

So what's the secret to getting started, staying motivated and achieving results?

Mike's message is simple:

• Make a commitment
• Declare it to anyone who will listen
• Get inspired
• Make achievable goals
• Eat less and well
• Exercise more and with intensity
• Keep it simple
• Give it your best effort

My signed commitment statement

So there! I've done it. I've made a public commitment to do this thing.

If you want to give me a little bit more of a push and sponsor me, check out my Droptober sponsorship page here. Remember some great charities including Variety and Kids for Life will benefit from every dollar raised.

Monday is now Droptober check in day here at babblingbandit.me so remember to come back and see how I'm going next week. I will also tell you more about what I learnt from Mike today.

V.

PS. Massive thanks to Michael Jarosky for giving me some of his time today.