As part of Michelle Bridges’ 12 Week Body Transformation program, each week Michelle provides a recorded video message as well as a live webcast, during which she answers questions thrown at her from program participants. She calls the webcasts her Mindset lessons.

Obviously it’s unlikely that all, or many of the questions will be of interest to everyone, but hopefully there are a few things to take from each forum. Indeed, there were a couple of things last night which hit home for me.

Firstly there was the infamous pop tart question from someone wondering when and if they should be eating a 200 calorie pop tart. It brought up the issue of how we ‘label’ food and I am one of the worst culprits. Reading through almost any of my blog posts you will find reference to ‘bad’ foods; or ‘good’ foods; or ‘naughty’ foods; or ‘evil’ foods. Similarly I label my own behaviour. I’ve been good. I’ve been bad. I’ve been naughty. Just as we shouldn’t label children as ‘bad’ or ‘naughty’ I suspect the same goes for ourselves – and the food we eat. I attach a lot of stigma to foods and even more to myself, reflecting on what I have been eating – or not eating. I’ve already confessed to ‘black or white’ thinking – no greyness here; so the ‘all things in moderation’ is kinda lost on me. But it’s something I have to work on. My post yesterday about potatoes is just one example. Poor old bloody potatoes. They aren’t that ‘bad’. It sure isn’t ‘good’ or ‘healthy’ to eat a dozen of the bloody things; or fry them in oil; or mash them with butter and milk or sour cream; and… (best stop there). But I associate them with ‘badness’. I’m sorry Mr Potato, it’s not you, it’s me….

Another interesting point raised last night related to the ‘finish line’. Someone queried whether it was realistic to aim to lose 15kg (and it wasn’t me, though that is my target). Michelle’s response likened their query to a sportsman focussing on the grand final before they had played the first game of the season. I am as bad as anyone when it comes to thinking about the finish line. In fact, if I lose 15kg during this, I will still weigh 114kg, so (with a goal weight of 80kg) my grand final premiership is a long long way off! And sadly, it seems, I am one for wishing time away. I regularly catch myself thinking ‘I wish it was 6 months time and I weighed 30kg less, or 1 year from now and I weighed 50kg less.’ My mother used to tell me I was wishing my life away. Perhaps she is right, as being 43, childless and single wasn’t something I envisaged for myself and yet I’m still dreaming of that fairytale – which naturally will fall into place once I reach a decent weight. Meanwhile, the lesson here for me is to focus on each day and each week (as per my recent post). Feel proud that I have kept within calories and done ‘some’ exercise, rather than think about the 50kg I have to lose and how long it may take me.

Finally was the point (back to the pop tarts again I think) about ‘saying no’. It hit home. I’ve been doing that this week. I’ve said no to Vanilla Diet Coke all bloody week. I’ve said no to carbohydrates at night some nights. I’ve said no to alcohol, including going to drinks with friends after work today (briefly) and nursing a lemon, lime and bitters made from soda water. Michelle talked about the fact that each time we say no, we are empowering ourselves and becoming stronger. And I am. I am (as she said) getting my inner warrior back. I feel very chuffed at my effort on the diet coke front. And I’m not really missing alcohol (though I miss the idea of alcohol and ceremony around it). Even deferring our cravings (her lay-by concept) puts us back in control.

“We are in the transformation business,” she said. We are. And I am.