At 48, Terri was almost 120kg. With just two years before her milestone 50th birthday, she set herself a goal. “I wanted to be fit at 50. I didn’t want to stay the way I was, I was very overweight; I struggled to move; I had hip problems, I kind of walked with a limp; couldn’t do up my shoes; couldn’t run 20 seconds. I was miserable and I thought okay, I’ve got enough time, I want to be fit and in a healthy weight range by the time I turn 50.”
Getting started
Terri started her first 12WBT in August 2012, and eight rounds later, has never felt better. It was a slow start for Terri though. “For my first round I just walked and I struggled even to do that,” she says. It was talking to other members at the finale party that got her to ramp up the exercise. “They said to me, ‘Look, just start. If Mish says do 20 and you can do two, just start.’” So Terri started getting up at 5am and working out with her husband encouraging her and exercising with her.
Preparing for success
Being prepared meant she felt ready for each morning’s workout session. “I’d go through and print out of what we were doing and I’d check any exercises on Michelle’s videos the night before, then the next day we would do all the exercises out on our back porch, with our dog jumping all over us.” She kept going, and soon did her first fun run, walking most of the way.
“I love the fact that I could print off the plans and either take them to the gym if I was doing a gym one, or mix it up and do the outside one, do the home one, and just change it.” The weight started coming off, with Terri losing a whopping 44kg in total! “I lost most of the weight, in fact, in the first three rounds, and from then on it became about the fitness for me and challenging myself.”
Terri’s motto: JFDI!
Michelle’s Mindset Videos were a godsend to Terri, with the videos relating to Terri’s challenges each week. The one that resonated the most? Just. Frickin’. Do. It. “I just go, “JFDI” that’s it. Don’t even think about it. You know what, my shoes are at the end of my bed, I have my workout clothes there. I don’t have time to hear the demons or hear the labrador or hear the teenager or any of that, it’s like get out and just do it because then it’s done. My kids laugh at me because that’s my answer to everything – JFDI!”
Celebrating turning 50 in Bali
Terri discovered Sharing Bali in time for her milestone celebration. What’s Sharing Bali? It’s a fitness retreat in Ubud, Bali for outdoor fitness, authentic Balinese food, friendship and fun, all with a taste of Bali village life. “I thought, ‘Wow, wouldn’t it be awesome if I could actually do that and go and do all these things that they talked about in Bali? That would be just the best 50th birthday present for myself that I could ever imagine’”. She told her husband, “I don’t want a party, I want to go to Bali” and he said, “Good, do it”. Terri had a girlfriend who lost 25kg on 12WBT and was also turning 50, so off they went, with two other friends.
How was Terri’s time at Sharing Bali? “A dream come true,” she says. “My life has changed so much, from barely being able to do up my shoes, barely being able to walk to the corner, to saying, ‘You know what? I’m gonna go and climb a volcano and I’m gonna ride a bike 25km down a hill, and I’m gonna do a jungle trip. And I’m gonna do all this stuff, I’m gonna do white river rafting’.”
Terri’s new zest for life
Terri’s newfound view on life has let her imagination run wild. “I’ve got confidence, now that I’m not afraid to fail, which I’m not. That’s one of the biggest things, before I wouldn’t even try something if I thought I would fail. I just would go, ‘No, I’m not going to even try that,’ whereas now I go, ‘Yeah, I’ll try it’ and I’ll fall down on my bum and then I’ll get up!”
Working out in Bali
Terri said the workouts by Jo at Sharp Moves and the Sharing Bali team complemented the 12WBT mindset. “It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, I must say. I just had the best time. It was hard work, it was hard yakka, but I was just grinning and I’m still grinning because it was just such fun.”
50 and fabulous
Now she’s turned 50, Terri has no plans of slowing down – in fact she’s ramping things up even more! She’s completed the Mother’s Day Classic, City to Surf, Harbour Run and the Blackmore’s Sydney Running Festival.
She’s also taking her challenges overseas again, next to hike the Inca Trail in Peru with her husband. They decided that each year they’ll do something on their bucket list. “It’s a four day hike and it’s about 45km, you’re about 4,000 metres above sea level,” she says. Terri is a bit nervous but is taking what she’s learnt at 12WBT and will JFDI!
…Want to be fit and fabulous in your fifties?
12WBT Fit for Fifty provides a mix of cardio, strength, flexibility and balance that’s perfect for those in or approaching middle age. Learn more >
