Day 12 - Body Attack

Yesterday was Day 12. I wrote the Psych NBME exam in the morning (It's done! Yay!) and promptly went home to take a nap.  So satisfying.

Later in the day, Heather, Danya, Avril, and I drove out to a women's only GoodLife club for some Body Attack. It may seem like I'm pretty engaged in taking these classes and doing yoga, but, in reality, they are things I've only started doing really regularly since starting the challenge. I'm quite pleased that only 12 days into the challenge I'm already seeing changes in my attitudes, or at least in my willingness to go to these crazy classes aka THE SCARIEST THINGS THAT EVER EXISTED. Seriously, I am so nervous any time I go to one of these classes because the choreography requires me to move both my upper body and my lower body in concert - this does not come easily to a synchronised swimmer - trust me! Nevertheless, I sweat my ass off during that class while flailing my arms and legs wildly (sorry, girl beside me!) and discovered that I definitely need some workout clothes that aren't falling off my hips (sorry, women behind me!).

Doing the Marathontourage proud with lots of sweat!

I'm really pleased that I've kept up regular physical activity during this period of exam preparation.Usually, exams would have been an excuse for me to eat badly (and yes, I have overeaten on some nasty foods over the past week) and avoid the gym. Squeezing physical activity into the tight little spaces has become much more natural in less than two weeks. Awesome.

I am definitely encouraged by positive external feedback as well. Knowing that people are reading the blog and following the progress of the four of us (come on, girls, where are your updates?) is motivating. I even got a great compliment from a classmate yesterday at the party. She had noticed my weight loss and said I looked fantastic (I actually didn't originally realise she was talking about my weight and was quite confused...).

I've read that advertising goals can reduce the likelihood of actually achieving them. I'll have to look up the paper and post it here in the future, but it's something about getting the satisfying feedback that comes from completing the goal without ever actually completing the goal - other people being pleased with you gratifies you and reduces the motivation for completion. I wonder if it's different in a venue like this, where I'm not just getting good feedback, but people notice if I haven't posted about my physical activity for the day and ask me about it. I feel accountable, and I think that's a lot of what's keeping me going.

More tonight, for Day 13! Can you believe we're almost at two weeks?

Sorry if you thought this one was going to be "creative and involved", Katie...still recovering post-exam.