babblingbandit.me does Droptober: day 1

So here we are:  Monday Droptober 1st!

I'm totally pumped to get this thing going and make Droptober a massive success. Since I signed up last week I haven't made any serious changes to my diet or exercise. All I've done is cut out chocolate, lollies and cakes for a week and I can already feel things starting to change. I've lost 1.2kg already! Not only has my weight started to go down, but my commitment is growing with every day I get through without sucumbing to temptation.

With today being Monday the 1st, what better way to start Droptober than by meeting up with the founder of this awesome initiative: Michael Jarosky.

Mike is a really great guy. He is friendly and oozes enthusiasm. We met down at King Street Wharf and both marvelled at what a beautiful Sydney day it was. A great day to be out and about and exercising! Well, at least we were talking about exercising.

I thought I'd catch up with Mike to get some inspiration to get myself started. We know how many times I've jumped on and off the weight loss bandwagon this year. This time the only option is success. Even if I just drop 2kg. But I'm seriously gunning for more.

Inspiration is an important theme for Droptober and in his first blog post Mike discussed it here. He talks about some amazing people who have achieved some amazing things despite the odds, but I got inspired simply by having a chat with this guy who is trying to make a difference by motivating people like me to look at their lifestyle, make a few changes and raise some money for charity in the process.

First question I asked Mike was what was his light bulb moment that made him realise that he needed to make some serious changes to his lifestyle. Because Mike has been here too: overweight and under exercised and living a shitty lifestyle that was only making him extremely unhealthy.

The epiphany came when he woke up drunk, after passing out on his lounge room floor, to find a half eaten 12 inch sub by his side. I laughed, remembering doing the same when I was still a drinker and child free. Although for me, it wasn't a sub, it was a half eaten Quarter Pounder stuck to the inside of my doona. Gross.

So what's the secret to getting started, staying motivated and achieving results?

Mike's message is simple:

• Make a commitment
• Declare it to anyone who will listen
• Get inspired
• Make achievable goals
• Eat less and well
• Exercise more and with intensity
• Keep it simple
• Give it your best effort

My signed commitment statement

So there! I've done it. I've made a public commitment to do this thing.

If you want to give me a little bit more of a push and sponsor me, check out my Droptober sponsorship page here. Remember some great charities including Variety and Kids for Life will benefit from every dollar raised.

Monday is now Droptober check in day here at babblingbandit.me so remember to come back and see how I'm going next week. I will also tell you more about what I learnt from Mike today.

V.

PS. Massive thanks to Michael Jarosky for giving me some of his time today.