Making changes
So the flavour of the month seems to be losing copious amounts of weight and publicly broadcasting before and after shots on instagram/facebook... Whilst I feel this is a bit of an assumptious move in thinking that people actually care...and at times is just another female's cry for attention via means of a selfie, I think the motivation required to achieve such a feat is something I want to remember and be able to come back and reflect on...and maybe something other people can read and realize that self-change is not that hard!
I didn't even realize that between the middle of year 12 and my first 18 months of uni I had slowly put on over ten kilos, putting on some more between year 11 and 12 also. Given the change in lifestyle from at least doing a bit of exercise and having an eating routine, to never exercising, having a vitamin D deficiency (= major fatigue), being on pills that slow down metabolism, eating absolute rubbish and always studying....I guess it comes as no surprise!
The worst thing was that I didn't even realize until I had to go up a size in clothes! It was such a terrible day when I had to change jean sizes....Although I've never been "fat," I've never been tiny either so putting on this amount of weight was definitely not good for my health or physical appearance. It affected my energy levels and my food intake did nothing for my immune system when I was frequently unwell and extremely tired. Not to mention my confidence. After being asked to be in my good friend's wedding, that day I made the decision to make a change....and I didn't look back. It was during that 8 months of an extreme health kick that I realized my inner potential to be highly HIGHLY motivated in whatever I set my mind to do. I found a point of motivation and used it as a cause to force myself not to revert to takeaway or never ever exercising.
I should note that at first, I signed up for a gym membership and started going 3-4 days a week doing cardio workouts and light weight classes. This made no difference to the scales, offering me only a little bit of toned muscles in my arms and legs. I needed something more. So I cut out all takeaway and a good proportion of carbs and fat in my diet. I stuck strictly to low fat products, plain-cooked meat, salad and vegetables. I counted calories which helped me to distinguish what would turn into fat in my body and helped me not to drink high sugar juices or sweet products.
Before I knew it, my new diet had caused me to drop four kilos in just 2 weeks and had dropped 10 kilos in about month and a half. I couldn't believe it! People noticed instantly, many comments of my weight loss being made by even the most unobservant people. I started falling out of the clothes I had to buy previously because of my weight gain and then suddenly had to start buying smaller sizes than the ones I'd been wearing when I was 17. I kept at it and lost a bit more weight over summer due to being motivated to exercise everyday as a result of the prospect of going to the beach or wearing shorts (the horror!) which brought me down to a comfortable size 8 (after having to wear a 12 at my worst stage). This last few kilos fluctuate regularly, depending on what I eat, how much I exercise, what I'm doing etc.
It's pretty easy to let the thoughts of weight loss and comparison to other girls consume you...as someone whose never been typically skinny, I've always been conscious of all the girl-type issues- thighs, arms, stomach...the usual...And I definitely had to find the line between being healthy and looking better AND being way too concerned with looking like other skinny girls and not being able to enjoy the blessing that is FOOOOOD!! nom nom! I got to the mental stage where I thought that there is a natural body that I was born with that does include curves and if I can't enjoy a bit of food just to look like the "perfect" figure, then that is just RIDIC!
These pics are something I've kept stored far away in online folders that I rarely rarely look at, but I'm putting them on here as a reminder of what I've achieved and what I don't want to ever happen again. Very cringe-worthy!
BEFORE...things progressed from a little bit extra to a lot extra. Heaviest point: 70kg
Set your mind to something and achieve it,
It's that simple
Stop making excuses
Stop saying you'll do it tomorrow, coz tomorrow is always in the future!
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