"It Always Seems Impossible Until It Is Done"

 Another half a pound gone this week. There was a moment when I started to get a bit disheartened with it all, half a pound really doesn’t seem a lot! Then I gave myself a talking to, instead of focusing on how badly I thought I was doing, I started to look at how well I was doing. I remember someone telling me once “that I might lose a few pounds, but I’d never be thin again” Now unless she has a crystal ball (she clearly has a broomstick) how would she know? However slowly my weight is coming off, the fact is I am loosing weight and am nowhere near the weight I was when I started my Slinky mission means I'm winning.  Every time I track my points, do some exercise or get on the scales I am achieving something, because I’m refusing to let myself go back to my old ways.

  It seems quite fitting that I’ve named this blog after a quote from Nelson Mandela, because he’s right most things seem impossible until they’re done! Which is a little bit how I’m feeling about the plank challenge. For reasons known only to someone who knows a lot of things about things, I decided I would undertake the 30-day plank challenge. If you’re not sure what a plank is, then have a look at this.

  Before we go any further I feel I should say, that when I do the plank I don’t look like the lady in the video! I normally throw myself on the floor, shout at the dog / cat to move out the way "this isn't a game Cyril and Pudding" and the most notable difference is my planks are accompanied by tiny little sobs and my whole body shakes like I'm on of those travelator things they have at airports. 

  The idea is that everyday for 30 days, you build up the time you hold the position. So on day 1, it was 20 seconds and then by the time you reach day 30, you should be able to hold the pose for 5 minutes. If I’m being honest, this was something that seemed like a really good idea when I started and now everyday I lie on the floor and click start, I curse myself. It turns out I know some incredibly inventive swear words, maybe the plank pose makes me more creative?

   The weirdest thing about all of this, is that I actually want to see it through! There’s no one making me do this, if I quit terrible things wont happen, but something inside me REALLY wants to get to 5 minutes. Don’t get me wrong I’m under no illusion that after 30 days I’ll have abs of steel, I have too much weight to loose for that to be an option, but I figure I’ll be stronger and whether it’s in my head,  I reckon my tummy is looking a bit less like a “bowl full of jelly” and I can see some definition in my waist. Actually maybe THAT’s the reason I want to do it!

 Lucy and I are also continuing our training for the Moon Walk, last weekend we walked about 12 miles. We weren’t going to walk that far, but owing to a slight navigational error (I took us the wrong way) Sunday’s walk ended up a little bit longer than originally planned! By the end of the weekend, my feet hurt, my back was sore and getting out of bed took a bit longer than normal, but I enjoyed every single step! Sometimes when I think about having to walk 26 miles, I start to  have a mini panic attack, because it seems so far, but I can’t help, but think that it’s going to be a fabulous experience and that the adrenaline of the event will get me through. Plus if I’m going to spend hours walking and chatting I may as well do it with my Bessie!

   It’s really easy to focus on what you don’t have and how things aren’t going quite the way you want, but it’s far better to focus on what you have achieved and what you do have. So half a pound OFF is still a weight loss and what the plank challenge and Moon Walk has highlighted to me is that once I set my mind to something I don’t quit, however impossible the outcome might seem. So yes one day I will be back in my size 10 jeans!

  Oh and if you would like to sponsor us for the Moon walk, that be most lovely! You can do that by visiting our page. http://bit.ly/1f3itT4