12WBTer Leanne’s been on a mission to live a healthier and happier life, and boy is she achieving her goals! She’s been sharing her 12WBT journey on her blog Finding The Thin Me Within Me, and we loved her post about her ‘new normal’ so much, we had to share it here. Thanks Leanne!

My new normal.

It’s only 3 little words, but words have power, and these words say so much about where I was and where I am today.

Shopping.

Normal used to be a shopping trolley full of packages – vacuum sealed bags, colourful boxes, foil wrapped ‘treats’, bags of frozen chips and vegetables… you get the idea.  To me, that’s how food came, even though I am of a generation that remembers a time when family meals were cooked from scratch every night, and having take-away for tea meant that you had to go out to get it, and it was a pretty rare event.

My new normal is a shopping trolley that looks like an ad for a farmers market, with as little packaging as possible.

Sleeping.

Normal used to be  and this is after my kids grew up, sleeping in Every. Single. Day.  Now, when I say ‘sleep in’ I don’t mean getting up at 8am instead of 7am.  I’m talking sleep-ins of the more epic variety.  Lets just say that 11am was not unheard of…  Mind you I’d be up until 2am or 3 am before heading to bed so it was still only the prescribed 8 hours…

Also, Nanna Naps and I were on a first name basis.

My new normal is a sleep pattern  which is still a work in progress  that has me in bed by 11pm most nights, sometimes earlier, and up at 6am three or four mornings a week, and no Nanna Naps!

Eating.

Normal used to be skipping breakfast, having lunch sometimes as late as 3pm, snacking on junk food during the afternoon and evening, having dinner around 7.30pm, then eating more crap.  It would be having take-away food for lunch every day when BM was on his days off, it would be Dominos pizza for tea every payday, as well as take-away Chinese food around once a fortnight, McDonald’s several times a week, and super sized portions of pretty much everything because I had portion distortion so bad that a normal sized serve of anything actually frightened me.

My new normal is, for the most part, three meals a day, whether I want to eat or not. It’s making lunch at home most days, and if we’re going to be out it’s looking for a cafe that serves real food, rather than grabbing McDonald’s and eating it in the car. Take-away is a treat now instead of a normal go-to option.  Even the type of take-away is different!  No more fat filled pizzas or bland, beige Chinese food, now it’s lovely fresh Thai with masses of veges, awesome colour, and so many flavours!

Moving.

Normal used to be literally sitting down all day except to go to the bathroom or the pantry for more crap.  It was waiting for people to walk past me so I could ask them to do things so I didn’t have to get up.  It was actually being unable to simply stand up, it was a process.  It was being unable to walk to the letterbox without breaking a sweat.  It was pretty much going from the bed to the couch and then back.  Every. Single. Day.

My new normal is looking for ways to move.  It’s going to #crackofarse training twice a week, and Frozen Yoga on a Friday morning at OH GOD o’clock.  It’s going for a 2km or more walk before a PT session just to warm up.  It’s signing up for Fun Runs, and going to parkrun.  It’s enjoying movement and exercise, and it’s being one of those crazy people who actually loves to exercise, and who looks forward to it!

Believing.

Normal used to be Voice  who first appeared on this blog here  berating me all day long, telling me that I wasn’t worth anything better, that I wasn’t deserving, that I was useless, that I was unloved, and unlovable.  Normal used to be me listening to Voice, and believing it. It was me accepting those horrible thoughts as my truth.

My new normal is me ignoring Voice.  It’s me countering every negative statement that issues forth from Voice with a positive one of my own.  It’s me accepting that I’ve made mistakes, and that its okay.  It’s me accepting that I am deserving, that I am well loved by so many people. Voice is a part of me that will always be there, I know that, but I have chosen to starve it of its power over me.

What is your new normal?

About Leanne

At the beginning of 2013 it seemed that everywhere I looked I saw 12WBT.  I figured that I was being sent a message so with encouragement from my daughter, I signed up. My first time signing up to 12WBT was Round 1 2013, I weighed at least 164kg – something I have NEVER told anyone before – and had a BMI of 61. By the end of that first round I had lost over 10kg and brought my BMI down 59.   I have been doing back to back ‘rounds’ ever since – May 2015 is round number 9 – I’ve slowly lost over 25kg and my BMI is on a consistent downward track.

I’ve had several lightbulb moments since my first round, and I’m sure they’ll continue.  Once I realised that I hate being fat more than any excuse I could come up with, that’s when things really began to change. The mindset lessons/videos, for me, have been a godsend.  I knew that my weight is emotional, and that had to be dealt with before I could be successful at losing it for good.

The friends that I’ve made through 12WBT have been pillars of strength.  Some I’ve met in person, but not having met others doesn’t diminish the connection that we have.  We’re all fighting the same battle, and I know that they understand exactly what I’m up against. The support from the 12WBT community – and it IS a community – in the form of FB groups like 12WBT 30 Plus (kilos) Crew, in the forums, and from the 12WBT support crew is beyond amazing, it’s like being a part of a huge family! Read Leanne’s blog.

Inspired by Leanne’s awesome journey? Join 12WBT now and you’ll get all the tools you need to be the best version of yourself!