Making Friends and Influencing People!!!

This is a blog post I have been pondering on long and hard fellow travellers as I believe that it may herald the end of a friendship with some of my fellow 12WBT 30+ group.

I attended the finale of Round 1 2013 this weekend despite my misgivings and have come away from the experience with a more cynical viewpoint of the whole Michelle Bridges 12 WBT merry-go-round.

Before you close the page in disgust let me clarify a few things. I have done 3 rounds of the program ( last round I gained... my fault) and including preseason I have lost over 30 kilos. I have paid my hard earned cash to participate in this and have gone into it with my eyes wide open. I think that the meal plans (on the whole) are well laid out and incredibly tasty and varied ( this is probably due more to an extremely talented group of nutritionist rather than any one person)

I have never kept to the exercise plan so have no comment to make on that.

I have never read a Michelle Bridges 12WBT email (these are set to go directly to Junk)

I have never watched a "mindset video"( I find Michelle's voice and demeanour extremely patronising and irritating)

Therefore the only part of the program that I have found has any significance for me is the food plan. Why do the program then? I hear you roar.

I've thought about that and two reasons spring to mind;

1: I knew I needed to make a change in my life diet and exercise wise.

2: It was there.

Is it any better than any other program that most PTs could devise? Probably not.

So why do I think that this plan is growing in popularity?

After attending the finale this weekend I saw an extreme amount of sycophants and some incredibly clever marketing of what I consider has become nothing more than a game.

All of the hard work and dedication is overlooked in the quest to find the most marketable story at the lowest cost. Yes, it is still about weight loss... there's no sugar coating it, this is a weight loss program... Attending the finale I also saw that this program is also about very strategic game playing. It's about how popular you can become, how many followers you can achieve with your blog. How active you are on the facebook pages. I saw adult women standing in awe of Michelle Bridges, hanging on her every word. Followers of a very well oiled marketing phenomenon rather than a genuine person with charisma and personality.. ( only my opinion ladies )

My husband had always joked about the 12WBT cult ... after witnessing and listening to some of the shenanigans on Saturday I don't wholly disagree with him.

The one thing that I found helped me enormously was the 30+ 12WBT facebook page. When I first joined 3 long rounds ago I found these ladies to be welcoming, supportive and above all generous in spirit. I have seen this page change as the program has changed.. Those supportive and caring women are still there but I have seen some people turn the page into a negative whining forum about how shit their lives are and how other people have let them down or been responsible for their bad day/week/year/life ..... WE ALL HAVE A STORY.... MOST OF US HAVE STRUGGLED

GET OVER IT!!

I have also been disgusted at how there are people on the page who are prepared to lay out their financial struggles to the group in order to gain .. either in the form of sponsorship of rounds or workout gear or runners... DESPICABLE ... Most of the group are genuine, caring and kind hearted and for the very odd (I use that word advisedly) person to take advantage makes my blood boil.

So what am I going to do for next round????

I have joined Round 2 and I will be undertaking the food program and I will be exercising hard. I do intend to lose 20 - 25 kgs as this will take me to goal weight. I intend to hang around the forum (if they will have me now) and I intend to kick the arse out of this round. I will not be submitting my pictures or sharing my story with 12WBT ( I refuse to become their property) I will weigh myself every week and submit it. I will do my stats. I will continue blogging (it helps me gather my thoughts)

I WILL NOT PLAY THE GAME

My final 12WBT question is: Where was the quiet achiever?