COCO BUTTER: I'd rather roll in mud

Have you ever tried any of those crazy fad diets before? The Grapefruit Diet? Apple Cider Vinegar Diet? Cabbage Diet? Cotton Ball Diet? (I wish I was kidding- Google it). A girl I worked with once was a Breatharian...she only 'ate' air and water...and the occasional mini Mars Bar...........

The question is...if you did one of these diets, how did that pan out for you? Did you last on it for a reasonable amount of time? I'm guessing that unless you possess a weird penchant for cotton balls (!) that these were just passing phases, something that you thought you might try? Did you stick to these things?

I was never a person who tried these weird diets. Prior to 12WBT I did Weight Watchers. And I

Boot camp location

tried the Reboot Juice diet for 1.5 days. That's about the extent of my diet reaches. I did however once try the Grapefruit Diet. I went out and stocked up on grapefruits. I'd never tried one before. But the diet called for it, so off I went. This was going to be The Best Diet Ever.

Grapefruits, I immediately discovered, are gross! Have out tried one before? Don't. They're tangy and taut and...yuck. That Best Diet Ever lasted for about a day. I was never going to stick to it. Being on a grapefruit diet when you hate grapefruits is like buying a purple jumper when you hate the colour purple. Why bother? You can pretend all you like but you're never going to wear it.

The same goes for exercise...

A few weeks ago I was sitting, forlorn and messed up after another cycling event that didn't go to plan. I've done a few cycling events or sessions, and I think every one of them has seen me at various points between crocodile tears and pretty impressive and dramatic near breakdowns. So I sat there, after another one of these torturous times, and one of my friends said to me: "You don't like cycling."

WHAT?

Of course I do! I do I do I do I do!

I do...

I don't. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I hate it! I actually hate it! I liked it once, years ago, but now...I think I just liked the idea of it. Learning this fact about myself was so refreshing. I hate cycling! I don't look forward to doing it, I'm really, really bad at it, I end up sobbing each time I do it. WHY ON EARTH did I continue to torture myself for so long by pushing myself to do something I hate? This does not make sense!

While this thought has been settling, coincidentally, last week ended up being a bit of a "Try All The Things" week. I have about 2-3 months worth of temporary gym memberships that I had won or been given. I decided to activate the first membership and start getting into gym classes. Apart

#notafan

from a few classes I did about 10 years ago, I've never been a gym class person. Until now! I decided I would probably love classes now, so I scheduled in a few into my Amazing New Training Program for last week.

First up was Body Pump. It was shit! Seriously - I was so bored! And I only burned 100 something calories. I actually had to keep turning my head because I was rolling my eyes so much and I didn't want to be rude. I couldn't help it - it sucked!

Next up was RPM. It was shit too! I nearly walked out halfway through. The only reason I didn't was out of respect to the instructor and I didn't want to disrupt the class. Again, I only burned 100 something calories. In a one hour cardio class! Pathetic.

The next morning I tried Body Jam. Same thing. Bored - too slow - 100 calories - waste of my time. I actually did walk out of that class halfway through.

Boot camp oh yes

I gave one more last ditch attempt to love the gym by trying out Body Attack. Admittedly I did enjoy it more than the other classes but really? I didn't love it. Not enough to sign up for a gym membership.

That night I was at my usual boot camp. I was lying on the ground of a football field, which was muddy and wet, looking up at the night sky with rain falling into my face, struggling to hold a weight above my head, getting yelled at. And I grinned. THIS IS WHAT I LOVE. I don't know what that says about me, that I prefer to be yelled at in the rain while rolling around in mud than prance around with 100% Lorna Jane decked up girls in an air conditioned gym!

LOVED this

Last week I also finally got back to dancing. That's a long story for another time but essentially I made it as a goal for 2012 and it's taken me this long to find the right class and to get the courage to go. When you're 141kg it's easy to find excuses not to go... But last week I found a class, I went and I loved!

I found this mega cool, indie dance school. It's like a secret underground hub where this unreal amount of kids converge like in an American teen movie. I felt like I was a part of this underground dance revolution...and this was before the class even started! And...the class is called "Musical Theatre Jazz." I KNOW!!!! It is perfect for me. I am unco and I didn't burn a heap of calories but that was absolutely not the point. I can tick off this goal, it's helping me with my theatre life and most importantly, I LOVED IT.

I also started my running training! Another thing I loved! Love my run coach, love my running buddy, love running.

I also did my 32km (33km) walk - that was ok :) I'm not entirely addicted to walking but it wasn't

Warning: walking for 7 hours does this

bad. The chafing on my arm was bad though! Betadine & a bandage has helped that somewhat since. I did parkrun and ran 10km in the Brisbane Twilight Running Festival (I'm yet to tell you about that one) - but again, running = tick. Did more boot camps - one along the beach - adore them. Yesterday I had a bad day - went to boot camp - immediate smile on my face after.

THIS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT.

You have got to find what you love! I can't tell you the freedom I feel now that I can admit to

Love running. Will run.

myself that I hate cycling and the gym! I feel so free and like I'm not pretending to myself anymore. Now hate is a very strong word - I'm not against these things - I will still do cycling in triathlons and there's a few classes I still want to try at the gym just out of interest...but overall, they are, at the moment, just not for me.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE?

And what do you hate? Feel the freedom...be honest with yourself. You don't have to love what your best friend loves. Some of my closest friends are mad keen cyclists and others are gym junkies. I think that's awesome and if anything I am envious of them. It's just not for me though. Maybe one day it will be? But in the meantime I am going to listen to my heart more and stop wasting my life pretending that I love certain forms of exercise when I clearly do not. I could join a gym and pretend to be a Les Mills loving, Lorna Jane wearing type as much as I want. But I'm not going to

This makes me smile

stick to it if I hate it. When you roll your eyes in the middle of a session it's probably a good sign that it's not for you. No offence to people who like this kind of exercise - we're just different. These people may not find any fun in bear crawls up a slope on a poorly lit field. I get that.

You have to do what makes you draw your breath in, what gets you excited and what makes you want to move. It's your body. Stop wasting it pretending to do stuff you know, on the inside, you hate. Stop crying on your way to boot camp each week if you in fact, prefer to do Xanadu 80's inspired aerobics videos in the privacy of your own garage. It's ok! Why are you pushing yourself to do stuff that you hate? You know you hate it...STOP DOING IT.

Give me running shoes and the open air, or yell and threaten to give me burpees in the rain any day.

Just don't make me eat any grapefruit.

Do.What.You.Love.

That's the trick.