The battle against the pred pounds - 12WBT take two!

So no doubt if you have RA (or pretty much any other auto-immune illness, for that matter), or if you know someone with RA - you will have heard them simultaneously sing the praises and bemoan the side effects of prednisolone and/or prednisone.

Steroids are a mainstay of treatment of RA and other diseases like it; a double-edged sword for people like me.  In their 'pros' we have reduction of pain, reduction of swelling, improved movement, improved function, and general improvement in wellbeing.  The 'cons' column (and believe me when I say I'm giving you the summarised version!) includes insomnia, mood swings, depression, emotional lability (crying at the drop of a hat is my super-power!), constant hunger, fluid retention and weight gain.  And that, my friends, is just the tip of the iceberg of the short-term effects.  Don't get me started on the crazy manipulation of your body that it causes if you're on it long term!

Funnily enough, I (and many RA patients around the globe) have long referred to these little white pills as "Satan's Tic Tacs".  The irony in this is that the company that makes Tic Tacs has long used the ad line "Two hours of Tic Tac freshness in less than two calories.".  Satan's version, however - well those little $*#^@&! basically make people like me pack on the kilos just by reaching for the bottle they come in.  Not fun.

Actually printing those three little words on the bottle might prevent some lawsuits in the future for "failure to acknowledge likely outcome".

So, after receiving a full-length mirror for Christmas (I have carefully avoided having one since living in my current house for the past 3 years; I'm not sure whether my family thought I was putting together my outfits badly or whether they were concerned about my weight gain...) I have had to come to terms with the way I look now.  Sure, my work pants had become a little tighter - but I really didn't think I was in too much trouble.  Seeing the way I look now, in my before photo for the 12WBT - I was clearly delusional.

I'm one of those people who has always been a bit of a problem solver - see a problem, acknowledge it, fix it - and I couldn't very well treat my body and my health any differently, could I?  So I got online, pulled out my credit card and signed up for another round of Michelle Bridges' 12 Week Body Transformation.  The signing up was the easy bit.  The hard work was yet to come.

The before photo I mentioned before evoked a different response to the one I get when I look at myself in the mirror.  In the mirror, I find myself focusing on my face.  When faced with the photo, I can't help but take in the whole picture.  And while I try to be very open and honest on my blog, sharing the photo would be cruel to you so to give you an indication of how unhappy I looked, allow my friend to demonstrate:

Grumpy Cat is not impressed by what she sees.

But the clincher for me wasn't the way I looked in the photo.  The thing that got me to hand over my money and commit to another round was Michelle's announcement that this round would also mark the launch of her "Move" program - for people with movement and mobility issues, whether they be from illness, injury, having not done exercise for an extended period, or having a BMI > 30.  The promise of an exercise program that was actually within my capabilities was simply too good to pass up, and I'm not going to lie - it felt freakin' awesome to complete my workout this morning.  I did it - not a 'modified' version for the girl with the dodgy joints, or only completing selected exercises because of pain - I did the whole darn thing!  Talk about building a girl's confidence and her pride in her work!

As I type this and day one of my twelve weeks comes to a close, I am proud of the start I've made.  Under my calorie target, and having gotten out of bed at 5:45 am to exercise - I am impressed with my day one dedication.  The trick will be keeping it up from here - but if I want to look less like Grumpy Cat in 12 weeks time, I need to get it done.  Fix that problem.  Change my life.



I'll be checking in from time to time to report back on my progress in the 12WBT.  For information and to sign up to be reminded when future rounds begin, go to  www.12wbt.com - I'll be honest, the meals are great and now with this new exercise program, we have no more excuses!

Day Nine...

I admit, this was supposed to be titled "Day Eight:" - as anyone who knows me will tell you, 8 is my lucky number and it's pretty much the only thing on earth I am superstitious about! - but some stuff got in the way.  Let's rewind.

So the 12 Week Body Transformation is going great guns.  My arthritis, not so much.  But to the important stuff - I would like to sincerely thank Michelle Bridges for changing my life.  It's only been a week, yes.  But in that week (and one day) I have lost 3.4 kg.   THREE point FOUR KILOS - and there is no way I'm going looking for them again, those buggers are not to be found.  Now, I don't know about those of you reading this blog, but for my version of the 12WBT (diet, diet and diet - because my body is dodgy and quite averse to exercise), I consider those to be some impressive numbers.  Add to that my attending a wedding where I tried very hard to eat only the healthy stuff (but I won't lie, there wasn't much!), and I am even more impressed with my loss so far.  If only someone had given me the crucial piece of information five, even ten years (or fifteen, or twenty kilos ago), what a different person I would be!

Without meaning to sound like an evangelist, the thing that I like most about the 12WBT is that it's REAL FOOD.  No shakes, no rabbit food, no soup-made-from-vegetables-I-would-rather-bathe-in-than-eat - real food.  Yes, I live alone and yes, if I tried to make everything on Mish's nutrition plan I would have more leftovers than my freezer could hold - but it's delicious and filling and I don't feel as though I am missing out.  Do you realise how important that is in a diet?  For motivation?  For perseverance?  Clearly Ms Bridges does!

A friend of mine at work had been lamenting some extra kilos that had crept on recently, but had tried a number of diets without any success - because they were too limiting, too difficult, or just too depressing (let's face it - we were given temporomandibular joints to chew (or, if your RA is as mean as mine, to cause you great pain), my friends!).  I took her some of my leftovers - which I divided up into the prescribed 'servings' - and had a giggle to myself as she exclaimed "This cannot be diet food!  How does it taste so good?  You mean to tell me I can eat this AND lose weight?".  Another convert who will no doubt be signing up for the next round...

So as for the stuff that got in the way of scheduled programming... I spent the weekend away at a wonderful wedding of two of the most compatible people on this earth.  It was a lovely occasion in a truly idyllic spot - I fell in love with it so much that I am already trying to work out when I can get back there for a few days of R&R!  On the way home I visited a family friend who lost their house in the recent bushfires, which was a very humbling experience.  But the worst was yet to come.

Shortly after arriving home, I decided a nap was in order.  I lay down, shut my eyes and got a couple of hours of nanna nap in.  I woke up and felt a little average - a bit headachey and nauseated, but figured I was just dehydrated and it would come right with a couple of paracetamol, a big bottle of water and an early night.  Long story short, the rest of my night involved 3 paramedics, 1 ambulance and a night in the local hospital where they proceeded to attempt to diagnose me based on my very technical description of "my head wants to explode".  Lots of fluids (4 L I think, but I lost count during my passed-out period), drugs and panics later, they discharged me home to my own bed which wasn't too soon according to my hips - hospital trolleys are not made for RA bodies.  

Excitement aside, I'm still not feeling a hundred percent - but I am hoping another early night tonight and more water than my body can hold will make all the difference.  Here's to taking the good with the bad - and hoping for more of the former than the latter!

Day One...

Well, wouldn't you know it - woke up this morning feeling like the RA Bus had decided to take a detour over my bed.  I had such big plans for the first day of my 12 Week Body Transformation, absolutely none of which involved starting the day in agony!  

After the pre-season fitness test yesterday, I was expecting some pain in my hamstrings (the sit-and-reach test I once smashed in high school was a part of the experience - let's just say my hypermobility is still doing it's thing, and allowing me to reach 17 cm past my toes!), which never arrived... instead it picked every joint in my body, including my TMJ.  Now, I love to talk - and my job involves a fair bit - but it even quietened me down a bit today.  That's saying something!

I must admit, despite less than 1200 calories passing my lips, I don't feel as though I've missed out.  I can say that on day one - ask me again on day twenty one, or fifty one! - but I ate delicious food, felt positive about what I'm doing and most importantly, didn't once think about stopping off at the kiosk at work for a Freddo frog, despite walking past it at least 20 times over the course of the day!

I also downloaded the Calorie King ControlMyWeight app.  I've never really been much of a fan of weighing my food and counting the calories, but I now realise it's a necessary evil.  The app is fantastic though, allowing me to plug in my calories in vs. calories out, and this was today's pictorial evidence (and remember, this is in spite of my feeling like moving may well kill me):

Yes, you read right.  NEGATIVE 1354 calories.  Go me!  This app is motivating me more than I thought possible, counting my glasses of water, tracking my exercise (thank goodness I wear my FitBit every day), and most importantly, telling me how many of my 1200 calories I've had so far.  The only thing that would make it better would be if it cooked dinner for me...

So, where am I at?  I feel good.  Aside from the RA (obviously, but we all know he's a cantankerous piece of work at the best of times), I feel almost 'cleansed' for want of a better word.  Revitalised.  I'm awfully glad I gave up the caffeine last July though - I can only imagine how rotten I'd be feeling if I was going through caffeine withdrawal AND calorie restricting!

One day down - eighty-three to go!

PS  I have a FitBit Ultra, which I don't think retails in Australia anymore... but I cannot wait until the next product comes out.  The FitBit Flex is a wristband (and comes in teal, yay!) that does all of the fab stuff the FitBit does, but automatically syncs with your iPhone to keep you on track.  How awesome's that?!  Bring on Autumn, I say - I've picked out my "You're awesome for being so dedicated to the 12WBT" present already!

Change your view, change your world

I have a gorgeous friend who lives on the Gold Coast - mother of two, wife to a very busy husband and overall top chick.  She has bitten the bullet and completed a round of Michelle Bridges' 12-Week Body Transformation... and looks incredible.  

So this is my promise to myself.  I will do my best to make this work - I know 12 weeks may not transform my body, but hopefully it transforms my perception of it and helps me to lose some of the kilos that are not helping my joints.  I intend to change my habits, change my outlook, change my life.  Change my world.

The journey starts here...