It's been a privilege and a pleasure to write this column. Thank you for reading it.
It's been said that it takes a village to raise a child. It also takes a village to get a couch potato on the road to good health.
My gratitude to all those who have supported me along the way - my family and friends, my colleagues at Mactodd, Tracey Roxburgh and James Beech of the Otago Daily Times, Richie and Sarah of Funktional Fitness, my flatmates Savio and Manisha, my quiz team, book club and Queenstown Film Society cronies, Tyla at Alpine Supermarket, Susan at New Zealand Post, and all the smiling strangers around town. Thank you all.
When I applied to do the Fitness and Fashion Challenge, I didn't expect to be accepted, but as Mactodd had generously offered to sponsor me, I thought I should apply. A part of me secretly wanted to take it on, but I thought my travel plans would eliminate me.
I almost dropped the phone when I heard I'd been selected. In my application, I'd listed my fitness failures and wrote this in the final paragraph: I'm far more determined and disciplined than in the past.
The idea of taking to the catwalk terrifies me; the idea of participating in this challenge terrifies me. Exercise and I haven't been friends for 39 years. It's time for change.
Things have changed. The final weigh-in was Wednesday night. In a last-ditch effort to lose more grams, I hauled myself to the gym at 6.30am to join Philippa and Tsehai for a spinning class. I spent the remainder of the day worrying about the weigh-in.
In the end, I was very happy, ecstatic, in fact with my result. I had lost 11.6kg, 9% body fat and 41cm around the body. I doubted the accuracy of the scales, but Richie assured me it was correct.
All the painstaking exercise and food deprivation had been worth it. I celebrated with a glass of red wine and chocolate.
A pleasant change from leafy green vegetables and lean meat.
Suddenly, it was catwalk time. The brilliant team from Hush Spa had been dealing with Fashion Challengers rushing in and out for treatments all week.
The team arrived on Thursday night and transformed us into goddesses. I didn't recognise anyone once the stylists had worked their magic. We were all gorgeous to start with but a bit of enhancement we were dazzling.
We dressed in Decode's stunning clothes and took to the catwalk with gusto.
I was nervous about tripping over, but we got out there and strode out feeling like supermodels. A supermodel unsteady in high heels in my case, but a supermodel nevertheless.
The hilarious Emma Lange was effervescent, the crowds roared and the whole show was a blast. We loved every minute. To walk on to the catwalk feeling a million dollars was worth all the hard work.
I've now had time to reflect. I have no regrets about the challenge, only gratitude for the things I've learnt and the people I've met. I even learnt I should listen to my mother.
We were told at the nutrition seminar to drink water with fresh lemon. Undeterred by the fact that she's not usually paying for it, my mother insists that restaurants put a slice of lemon in the glass. It's good advice.
The other women on the challenge have been fantastic; inspiring, strong and supportive. Their encouragement has been invaluable. The feeling of doing something you never thought you could do is uplifting. The challenge has given me more energy and the confidence to work on achieving other goals.
Admittedly, I will always enjoy leaving the gym more than I enjoy arriving there, but I now leave feeling energised. That's a world away from the person who could hardly walk down the stairs after the first training session.
Then I wondered how I would ever get through the first week, let alone 12 weeks.
The gym instructors and the music attempts to create a nightclub atmosphere, when we all know the gym has more in common with a dubious dictatorial regime than with a tropical island party. That aside, every hellish bit of exercise has been useful.
A friend has a quote stuck on her fridge. The gist is, I've travelled 10,000 miles for the right to walk to the end of the street in peace. There have been tragic and violent incidents in New Zealand where walking to the corner shop is not safe. However, for the most part, especially in the Queenstown Lakes district we are fortunate to have many options for walking, not just in peace but in some of the world's most beautiful scenery.
We have opportunities others can only dream of and it would be wrong to waste them. It's good to think of this occasionally, otherwise it's easy to become complacent.
I went to Riverton for the weekend, to indulge in good food and wine with friends. Back in Queenstown, I have a new challenge - reaching and maintaining my ideal weight and sticking to exercise and quality nutrition, although there'll be occasions for luxury food!
I don't know about Becoming Catherine, but I flatter myself that perhaps I'm a more becoming Tanya.
