For the love of a mountain

This isn’t a post about how I’ve smashed an amazing goal, or about how I’ve overcome some major hurdle, or describing a current struggle.

 
This is just a post about how I set a simple goal and how achieving it meant more to me than I realised.  There’s no amazing feats in this blog post, just to let you know from the outset. :)

So there’s this mountain in Brisbane: Mt Coot-tha.  It’s a tiny mountain, and it’s one of the main heart points of our city.  There’s a planetarium and Botanical Gardens at the bottom of it, many hiking and cycle tracks around it, and at the top there’s a restaurant and a tourist hub lookout with beautiful views right over Brisbane.  There’s heaps of picnic grounds and it’s also home to the Channel 7, 9, 10 etc. stations and towers.  The looping road is popular for cyclists.  Last year Mt Coot-tha was one of the Top 10 stretches of road tracked in Strava in the world.  There’s also usually a string of cars that pull over to the side of the road on Friday and Saturday nights with couples at the end of dates. ;)  There’s fun on that mountain for all ages! :P           

I made a Week 11 goal to walk Mt Coot-tha via the road that loops around it.  I got a few friends lined up to join me and we set out to conquer it just before sunrise on Saturday morning.  I didn’t know why I wanted to do this, or why each round I make a goal that involves Mt Coot-tha.  Usually it’s conquering the Kokoda track – one of the full on hiking tracks on the side of the mountain. I didn’t know why I kept making goals on this mountain.  I just go with it!

The loop road is about 10.5km.  I always drive up the road – to get to somewhere else on the mountain.  But this time I wanted to do it via foot.

I met up with the awesome girls who were joining me and we set out.  And as we walked around it I had a bit of a “This Is Your Life” moment.  Suddenly it was like I was remembering all these memories I had had on the mountain.

-When I was a kid my family had picnics on the mountain.

 
-In the house I grew up in, if I strained my neck in a certain position while lying on my bed, I could see one of the red flashing lights from the top of the TV towers.  When I was going through a difficult time as a teenager, I used to strain my neck each night before I could go to sleep to catch a glimpse of the red flashing light, like a nightly comfort thing.

-I’ve had dates up there...16 year old Kate making out with Rob at the summit...ahhhh Rob...I loved Rob... *move on Kate!*

With my cousins on a family picnic.  I'm on the far left in the middle.

-In Year 12 I organised work experience for myself at Channel 7, 9 and 10 and adored it – a bright eyed teenager speeding off to press conferences in station cars and helping film TV shows: what my heart desired.

-I’ve had auditions at the stations – cattle calls of girls with stars in their eyes...

-I’ve seen friends get married there.

-I’ve had coffees, icecreams, breakfasts, lunches, dinners and catch ups with friends there.

-I’ve found myself on the top of the mountain during some particularly personal heartbreaking moments.  I’ve just literally escaped and ran away up there to look at the view and just sit and cry.

-I’ve climbed Kokoda and done heaps of bushwalks there with 12WBT friends and met heaps of lovely friends.  Including having breaky there with Mish herself once!

-I’ve just been to the top to admire the view and put the world into perspective.

Rhonda, Alana, Bron and myself

-I even decided when I was 14 that I would get proposed to up there!

So many moments up there – and walking it by road really brought all these moments back to me.  I realised I usually rush up that mountain and don’t allow myself to remember these moments.

We did the ring road and it was great – just under 1000 calories, just under 3 hours, some great girls by my side and a whole lot of memories to make me smile.  And I finally worked out why I keep making goals there and going back to that mountain.

Sometimes we need to slow down and not rush through things to see the special stuff...the stuff that matters...

Thanks to Alana, Rhonda, Bron and Sarah for sharing this goal with me.

Love that mountain :)

Top of the mountain!

LOL!  The girls said there was a dead animal.  It was safer for everyone if I didn't look.

Jumper fits both of us!

My beloved TV stations...10, 2, 7 & 9

A REAL 'before and after photo'

So I've been hearing some stuff lately...from conversations, observations and even from myself. About this weight loss thing. In particular, about 'before and after photos.' We all love them, don't we? They're bloody inspirational! To see a photo of a non-smiling, obese person next to a smiley skinny minny makes us all feel like we can 'do it' too. It makes us believe that transformations are possible. To put it simply, they give us hope.



You've all seen this before.  It's true.

What has been bothering me lately though, is how easy it is to believe that 'that', is it. I'm going to speak really bluntly here. It's so easy to believe that the fat photo happened. And then the skinny photo was next. There was nothing before, or in the middle, or after. And that it's all about the goal weight.

People forget the whole other side to these photos. Now I am NOT talking about myself here - I am not even close to goal and am officially still 'Obese'.  I am simply just speaking generically. It's easy to forget that this - let's say woman - was once a child. Once was an awkward teenager. They forget that she has lost weight before. And put some on. Then lost it again. Then put on more. Like my weight tracker in blue below.  This is very up and down.  The second highest point is when I started 12WBT.  Yes, it's predominately going down and I know this time is for real.  But if you look closely, there's lots of little hiccups in there along the way as I learn.

But when we see photos we can forget that it may not have been straightforward.  We don't think about the fact that the person in the photos has passions, hobbies, day to day things that she has to do. She has a family. And friends. She has bad habits - some days she's grumpy for no reason. She's human.



My weight for the last 6 years - not exactly a straight line

It could be easily forgiven to look at a before and after photo and believe that it was smooth sailing and the numbers dropped away consistently each week: a perfect downwards line on a weight loss chart. Not even. Looking at a before and after photo, you can't see the slip ups that happened in between. You can't see the block of chocolate that was consumed in a frenzy of old behaviours that snuck back in on a day when the kids were driving her crazy and she had an argument with her partner. You can’t see the bad days, the sad days, the good days, the days where you just can’t be bothered. You can't see the day to day tribulations that every one of us have. 

Those before and afters are real, alright.  But they’re not the be all and end all.  They’re two moments in time.  Life is so much more.  She has more going on than these two photos.  And besides, none of are able to use our true ‘after’ photo yet.  Think about it.



The person smiling in that after photo, they may have a wide grin but don't think their life is perfect. They suffer from illness, injury, relationship breakdowns, career issues, sad days and bad hair days.  Just as they've had triumphs, successes, days of pure joy and moments that take their breathe away. They have done before and they will continue to do. Because an 'after photo' is just a snapshot in time. There's plenty more photos to come after that one. Because this isn't about weight - this is a part of your life. 

And more importantly, what about those passions of yours?  You know, the ones you keep hidden inside you and you gave up on because it was too hard / too expensive / too scary / too time consuming.  You know it’s a passion because when you think about it, your heart physically contracts and you get butterflies in your knees.  Don’t pretend you don’t.

I put together an example of a real 'before and after photo'. I am only halfway through my weight loss journey so I'm not the best subject for this, but it should still show you what I mean.

Below are two photo collages. The first collage is my most recent 'before and after photo'. And the second collage is a more realistic view of my two photos – using just a few representations of photos for different parts of my life. I had photos before my 'before' photo. We all have a past. The journey between these two photos has been up and down. I didn't just go from Picture A to B. From a nutrition and exercise point of view, I stuffed up all the time. I still do. There’s no (as far as I know) perfect person with the perfect life.

Everyone’s fighting some battle.  Even the ones with smiley ‘after’ photos.  And I'm not even at goal yet.  Imagine the pressure that people put on themselves when they look at actual goal weight 'after photos' and make up some perfect story about how that person has had an easy ride, or perfect run of luck.

When really, when truth be told, they have just worked their ass off amidst their own personal adversity and triumph.  I want this story to give you comfort that 'weight loss journeys' aren't perfect.  So if you slip up or go 'off course', don't worry - so did the smiley skinny chick in the photo.  It's just a part of the whole process.

I've had some amazing, out of this world moments between these two photos. And I've also had some really shit moments. Coz it's life.  I think people forget this - the journey isn't in those two photos - it is the stuff that happens in between - and before, and after, that is the real journey. That's what matters. We just happen to be losing weight and improving our health as well.  But that is not the only thing in our lives.  Don’t forget the important stuff in your bid to drop kilos.



Play with your kids, reignite that passion you gave up on a while ago, drive to the beach and just sit, sign up for that guitar class, because that's the stuff that matters. The photos that you see published out there are just snapshots in time.  It’s the unpublished snapshots you create every day that actually matter.

A 'before and after photo'

 

A REAL 'before and after photo'