12WBT Week 1: In Review

So its been one whole week of following Michelle Bridges' 12WBT, so I thought what I'd do is post my initial thoughts on the food and the workouts :) First of all, whoa. That went fast! Only 11 more of those to go and I'll be staring at a slimmer, leaner, fitter and happier version of me :D woohoo!

Now, the food. Let me just say, wow, I am so impressed. I thought I was pretty good at deciding what to eat, and keeping this interesting. Yes I was getting a little bored with my food, but hey, I'm trying to lose weight, its not going to be meat pies and pizza is it? Oh wait. Mish blew that out of the water! Haha.

I initially joined the 12WBT mostly for the workouts, but so far, the food has BLOWN ME AWAY. It is soo good! Healthy does not have to be boring! And there aren't any teeny tiny portions either! But there must be some downside to all this yummy food and losing weight at the same time right? Well yes, there kind of is. Its called meal prep or food prep... aka dreaded cooking! Since I am on this journey with my mum, we can share the cooking. She will make dinner, I usually make breakfast and then we take turns in cooking lunch. Which has been amazing, and has meant I can follow the menu pretty much to exactly what Mish has decided for us. But, that doesn't mean you can't do this on your own! If I was doing this by myself, I'd simply make all my lunches and a couple of back-up dinners each Sunday or Monday night, so I don't feel like I'm constantly in the kitchen. Doing it this way isn't so bad, and getting into a routine of Cooking Sundays can be quite fun. Ok, you won't have as much variety throughout the week, repeating recipes a little more often. But the recipes are so damn good, I don't think you'll mind. I'd eat all of them again for sure!

Let me show you some of my favourites from this week's menu;

Next, the workouts! This is what I was MOST excited for! To have Michelle Bridges as my Personal Trainer. To get f*cking ripped! Haha. So Monday heading into the gym with my workout print out (and a pen!), I did feel a little silly. I had my insecurities, "I'll look silly", "I'm not strong enough", but once I got started, these thoughts floated out of my head as I pictured Mish's awesome shoulder muscles, and how great I'm going to feel with a flatter belly. I pushed my way through the workout, and was introduced to exercises I'd never done before, and also some that I loved. They were well set out, and quite easy to follow.

I did have to look up a couple in Mish's 'Exercise Index' before going along to the gym, so it would be great if there was a little picture on the print out to jog my memory though. Because I am following the 'Advanced Lean & Strong' program, most of my workouts are strength based training, and I do have the option to go to gym classes as well. I did one gym class, and 5 of Mish's workouts. I was quite sore earlier in the week (hello arms!!), but by Saturday I was ready to smash the Super Saturday Session laid out for me. Some of my friends are also doing the 12WBT so we all got together and did the SSS in a park near my house, set up as a circuit. It was great fun and the time definitely went quicker than it would have if I'd been by myself in the gym! 

Lastly, mindset and support. I know what you're thinking, "whatever, I'll gloss over this part". BUT DON'T! This is key. The forums are a great addition to the program, you can post questions or queries there, post about your successes, or a plea for help if you feel yourself slipping. Its great feeling part of a community, and everyone is very positive and supportive of each other. I can see us all getting quite close by the end of 12 weeks, and its great to read other peoples trials and triumphs throughout the week. I think the mindset challenges are awesome. I actually think, besides the yummy food and the wicked workouts, these are going to be what sets this program apart from all the others out there. How many times have you jeopardised yourself with negative thoughts? You know what I'm talking about "I'm not good enough", "Everyone else is so much better than I am", "I can't do this", "This is too hard". I know I have ruined many weight loss attempts with toxic thoughts like this. But Michelle Bridges and the 12WBT gets you to address these thoughts and emotions, the program releases tasks and videos each week to help you master your mind, and enhance your efforts.

The pre-season tasks were particularly awesome in this respect! The goal setting was especially helpful for me. So if you are doing Round 2, and you haven't done your pre-season tasks, what are you waiting for? GO DO THEM! If you're not, start trying to eliminate these negative thoughts the best you can, they really are detrimental to success!

I'd love to hear everyone else's thoughts so far and how they are finding the foods and workouts! Do you feel the same way about mindset and how important it is?

Bring on Week 2!