Kate Does Finale

There's very few times where I'm speechless or don't know how to blog about an experience...and this is one of them.  So..............................................................I did finale!  Did I ever!  It was one of the craziest weekends of my life.  It was overwhelming, amazing, crazy, humbling, fun, unbelievable and totally insane.  I'm still processing it now.  As always with finale, I find it hard to blog about it as it's such a personal and amazing experience - something that just can't be conveyed in words.  And this one is no exception - but this time to the highest extreme.

Hugging Mish

I was awarded 12WBT Hero.  It's an award for "Inspiring, Supporting, and Paying It Forward."  It's nominated by 12WBT members, which makes it all the more special.  5 of us got Hero and 5 were awarded a Top Transformation award for the round.  To be in the Top 10 of this amazing program blows me away.  12WBT is massive.  Like huge.  How could I be chosen to be up there?  It's with absolute no word of a lie when I say that a couple of times in the week leading up to finale, I almost emailed Larah from 12WBT to say that I'm not sure I should be up there.  

Part of me felt like it was a fairytale and I needed her to pinch me because it felt like I was in a dream - I actually stopped believing it.  And the other part of me felt like I shouldn't be there.  Surely there was a mistake.  You see, I was just this chick from Brisbane who used to be morbidly obese and wouldn't

One of the strangest moments of my life

even catch a train out of embarrassment at my size.  I've been on this journey to lose weight, sure, but it hasn't been perfect. It's been so far from perfect that perfect isn't on the spectrum.  I fail all the time and I'm not even 'there' yet.  And now you're saying I'm a 12WBT Hero?  I think they have the wrong person.

Yet this is what they told me.  So leading up to the weekend I was daydreaming about this - I have no idea how I concentrated on work for the week.  I'm an actor and I'm onstage all the time.  But that's hiding behind a character.  This was going to be all about me...just Kate.  It was hard to get my head around it all.  I was excited, overwhelmed and in shock, all at once.

So much happened that it seems as surreal now as it did at the time. I had pre-drinks with Mish!  I had to stand on a podium under spotlight and be delivered to Mish onstage while being flanked by a video camera while Katy Perry's 'Hero' played. It was so full on that my name may as well have been up in lights. Oh wait, it was. My name was in lights on the big screens. Can you see why it was overwhelming??

Then as if being onstage for Hero wasn't enough, a whole stack of other exciting things kept popping up.  One of them was that I got to be a model for the One Active fashion parade at the finale group workout!  One Active is my favourite label - I was going to model my favourite label!  This was the most exciting thing ever for me.  And it was so much fun - the group of girls I was with were awesome.  I swung my jacket aka Full Monty on that stage like I had all the confidence in the world - despite shaking on the inside.  

You'd think having drinks with my favourite Mish, having my name - and me - up in lights and

About to model One Active!

modelling my favourite clothes would be enough for one day but there was actually more.  It just didn't stop.  Even more amazing things happened.  When crazy things happen to me, I sometimes say to myself "my life is so weird".  This was an understatement for Saturday.  It was a day and night I will never forget, and hopefully one day soon, I'll be able to process it and make sense of it all. :)

A wholehearted thank you to those who nominated me.  It is incredibly overwhelming to have so much support -

Swing that jacket!

not just for this award but just always.  I would never be able to do justice in words at how much support I have around me.  Thank you for following my ups and my downs and not budging from my side no matter where I am.

Another huge thank you to the amazing 12WBT staff for their tireless efforts in putting each finale together. Not only do they work their butts off, they personally go out of their way to look after you and make you feel like the most amazing person in the world. I held more than one of their hands on the night! That's the kind of beautiful, kind hearted people they are. And another shout out to a few special friends who are always by my side, but particularly were all weekend and this fortnight. I'm going to leave someone out if I name them but you know who I'm talking about. I am blessed to have you around me and I don't know where I'd be without you.

It was an incredible honour to be awarded Hero and I'm still trying to process it all. The closest I've come to making sense of it was when I had two men separately approach me at the party. Each of them scoped me out to say thank you for helping their wives change their lives. To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement. I speak like this to women a fair bit, but for this to come from men was really special. Each of them was simply glowing with pride at their beautiful wives. I made sure I found each said wife and hugged them and both times the 3 of us had this little moment. The special thing here was that I haven't done anything. I just did (and am doing) my own thing. I think this is all about the fact that sometimes we just need to know that it's possible to achieve something to know that we can do it ourselves. 

I feel so fortunate that I was able to thank Mish herself on Saturday for helping change my life. She replied by saying that I did the work. A year ago I would have (and I actually did lol) gush back that no no no, SHE changed my life. However on Saturday I agreed with her, and said that yes. Yes, I did. She (and her team) gave me the tools - and the hope - and I did the work. That's what I said to these men and others I chatted to. You can grab onto any inspiration or feel motivated by watching someone else do it, but when it comes down to the crunch, you are the only person who can do the work. Just keep doing your own thing, stay true to yourself and work hard, and that's when you become your own hero. That girl on stage in the photos is actually just that chick from Brisbane who wouldn't catch a train at 141kg. On the inside I'm still the same person. I'm a lot lighter, more confident, fit etc. now but really, I am still just Kate. I'm simply doing my best to be the best version of her that I can be. That's all I can ever ask of myself.

Thank you so much again xo

My little moment on the podium

With the beautiful Thee and Larah

Top 10

On stage

 

At pre-drinks with my amazing and supportive friend Kirsty, and Mish

My beautiful friend Cathy

Love this photo!

This girl is amazing.  Michaela is just so inspirational and was such a rock for me for the night <3

My official photo with Mish

Arriving in Sydney and I bumped into 4 12WBT friends!

Friday night drinks with Court and Sarah

On my way to the fashion parade rehearsal

Clothes and shoes we had to model!

My clothes!

Being interviewed!

Workout fun with Jo

Its 'our' book!  Leonie and I wait for autograph hunters...ok, no-one?  We'll wait a little longer :P

I have been wanting to meet Dane for 6 rounds!  I finally got to on Saturday and it made my day!

Makeup time!  (For the 3rd time that day!)

All that glitters....

With Kirst <3

With the beautiful Heather

Just before we went onstage.  Such an amazing moment

Love Larah and Kim :)

Flying home

One Active models!

My 1st ever caricature!  They had caricaturists at the party!  So cool!