Hello!
So usual when I blog its a dismal array of things going wrong in my life, but one of my friends has helped me in trying to look at the positives.
I am still somewhat dubious in how this will aid my life but here goes!
Firstly, its my boyfriend (yes I know here comes the soppy crap) BUT, he is my backbone. He keeps me going every day, with constant support, acknowledgement of little things and knowing what I like. We have our hard times, mainly due to our situation, but we still manage to thrive off each other and he always has that positive and optimist attitude (which frankly I lack in). And, most importantly, he is my best friend.
Well enough with that, I don't profess to be a women who needs a man, in fact being independent is one of the main 'life stories' I was taught as a child, and in some respects that worked/ still works for me today. But having someone their to support you, god knows I don't have many people who do, gives you a burst of life like no other. People thrive off compliments and recognition it is just a cold hard fact.
Secondly, one of my biggest achievements in the last year is my weight loss/ healthy eating/ exercise regime. Being bigger has always been in my family, they say it's 'in the genes' and for many many years I believed that and didn't help myself. I was told constantly by my mother that there is nothing you can do about it, nothing to be done, you will just be bigger your whole life. Let me tell you a bit about my mother, she was 22 stone until a few years ago when she had a gastric bypass operation on the NHS, now I have a very strong opinion on people working for what they get, in this case of course there are many factors of why she was obese which I will not delve into. She told me she had fought many years trying to lose the weight naturally but nothing worked, however, from what I saw through my childhood she stuffed her mouth with whatever rubbish she could find, an example of this is she would get me to walk to the local shop and get her a two tier tray box of milk tray nearly every other night. Anyway, she received the bypass and is now only 10 and a half stone. But she still treats her body like a rubbish bin eating chocolate everyday, crisps, using the excuse of that's what she feels like, and she won't gain weight. Did she really deserve a new life when she treats her body the same? That wasn't and isn't for me to decide.
Anyway back to me and my journey, since 2012 I have lost 3 and a half stone; my heaviest being 12 stone and now my current weight is 8 and a half stone. My target at the beginning was 9 stone, but I have exceeded this, which I should be proud of, but I still have a way to go and new targets to aim for. Not only have I lost this weight through extremely healthy eating and exercise, I have incorporated it into my everyday life it isn't a 'diet' it's a lifestyle. Many people think that losing weight is a temporary thing and once it has dropped off you can relax, well it isn't, you have to either maintain your weight through exercise and watch what goes into your body. Some people are very lucky and are naturally slim and have a high metabolism, I'm not so lucky, mine was extremely slow and the only way to change this for me was through exercise.
Here is a quick breakdown of how I managed it:
- I started with home workout videos: Jillian Michaels 30 day shred, Davina workout and lastly what motivated me the most was Shaun T's Insanity (highly recommended)
- I focused in on my diet and started replacing some of the things in my cupboard/fridge for things with higher fibre content/ protein content/ lower fat (eg. replacing white pasta with brown pasta)
- When I started to get more serious I joined a local gym (The Gym) which is very reasonable in price and has just what I need.
- I then started to look at my general food intake and meals and decided there were ways to improve on them (More vegetables, less carbs) and god knows I loved my carbs.
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| Me at my biggest (not a great pic I know) |
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| Me today. (Yes I am pale) |
And here I am today. Feeling a lot better about myself but I have target areas which still needs to be sorted; in my case the thighs and bum area.
Another piece of advice is; having a target really helps, whether it is weight or body measurements (you have to remember muscle is heavier than fat) but I would rather be toned than flabby!
It is hard to break out of the mentality that you are no longer a fatty bum bum, but I am nearly there, I will always be worried about my weight it's just me, and being a bigger child too is difficult. Also, you have to take into account I am only 5ft 3 Inches, so being bigger when you are small makes you look MASSIVE, so that will always be a worry (I am wearing heels in the picture of me today ha!).
Thirdly, I suppose, is that I am at University studying English Literature and Politics, a course I thought I would never be able to get onto as my A-levels don't reflect these subjects at all. I am determined to do well and achieve a high degree level- my first year results are not in yet so I can't tell you if I'm filled with joy or angst yet! However, I have been reading a lot more and feel I can do well if I worked hard.
Well there you go, my biggest achievements in the last year, it's not much (I probably have more) but these are the most prominent ones for me...
I would be interested in your achievements, however small they are!
Well goodbye for now (However long that it) and speak soon!
