Healthy eating and weight loss....... eurgh!

So......

 

As you may or may not know (If you've watched any of my YouTube videos you will) I am what I like to call "a fat boot". That is, I am overweight and I am unhealthy. I have been overweight since I was 18 and to be honest, the vanity side of things hasn't really bothered me until recently. I have always been a confident person and have never let it get me down, even as my weight has continued to creep up. But over the past year I've put on about a stone (14lbs/6.4kgs) and I've noticed this the most. It has clung mostly around my stomach (or my jiggly puff as I like to say) and has probably knocked my confidence more than any of the other weight I have put on over the years. I don't wear the clothes I want to because I feel I need to hide my size and I have become more reluctant to have attention on me particularly in large groups.

 

But I am trying to change this. I have my wedding later this year and I need to drop at least one dress size to fit into my dress. Also, I've just booked my hen do for September and I'd rather not look like a beached whale thanks very much. I have plenty to motivate me - I just have no willpower. The second I get a craving or the work out gets too hard I just throw in the towel. And when it comes to food, I tend to binge. I've tried a lot of diets. Weight Watchers, Slimming World, Atkins, Dukan and even crash diets. And yes, they do all work but after a couple of weeks (or days in the case of Atkins and Dukan - I like my carbs people!) I have no desire to continue, even when I'm seeing positive results.

 

So instead of going on a diet, my goal is to generally lead a healthier lifestyle. I think that if I change things slowly and consistently I might be more likely to stick to them. I think the sudden change makes me crave the good stuff more. I'm also not going to become obsessed with it. I've been that person who weighs themself every morning, who logs every crumb they eat on an app and spends hours working out what I can eat and how much exercise I need to do. And I was not a fun person. I did nothing but think about weight loss and guess what, I never lost anything of any use!

 

About two years ago, I joined the gym and I was going a few times a week. I would sometimes go into the gym myself but mostly I would go to classes. Spin was my favourite but I also liked aerobics and body pump (a weight class) and I would sometimes go swimming. I was in a really good routine and was feeling the benefits of the exercise. I was sleeping better at night, I had much more energy and although I didn't notice any great weight loss, people commented that I looked like I had. I was starting to change my shape. Exercise wise, I would like to get back to his point. Enjoying the workouts and feeling the benefits of them but not doing it to a point where its taking over my life.

 

I've already made a few changes. Small, but I do feel the benefit of them. Firstly, I have been trying to drink more water. Before, I was constantly drinking diet coke so I've kind of ditched that (I used to drink at least one can a day, I would say usually three or four) and now I either drink water, or sugar free diluting juice. Secondly, I have majorly cut down on my caffeine consumption. I recently changed job and my old job was in a contact centre where I had no motivation whatsoever and it was a struggle just to answer the phone. Not to mention it was BO-RING! I was drinking three or four cups of coffee a day, the first being before 8 in the morning. I didn't realise how dependant I was on it until I started my new job and didn't have any coffee with me the first day. My head was absolutely pounding all day so I knew it was time to kick the habit. I do have the odd cup (maybe a couple a week) but I have mostly replaced it with green tea and I've really been enjoying it! I got the Twinings Green Tea with pomengranete and with cranberry and they are both delicious. These changes haven't helped me lose any weight, but they are definitely helping with my general health and wellbeing.

 

I have a couple of goals for the next few months that I will be working on. Firstly, I will be bringing a packed lunch with me every day. That way, I know exactly what I'm eating, I won't be tempted by any unhealthy options in the shops and it will save me a load of money! Today I made a smoothie with some Slimfast powder in it for breakfast, had pasta with chicken and vegetables for lunch and brought Sunbites and a banana for a snack. The only issue with this is that I need to make sure I'm organised!

 

Secondly, I'm going to try and get more exercise. My sister has signed us up for power hoop classes (its basically hula hooping but the hoop is weighted) which we start tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it. Once I move to my new house I'm also going to try and go out for a walk on a regular basis and at some point work up to running some of the way. Hopefully as the weather gets better this will increase (I say this on the 30th March, when it was actually snowing as I left the house - ridic!) and I'm hoping its something I will enjoy.

 

Thirdly, I'm gradually going to cut bad things out of my diet and the first is wine! I have only started drinking wine in the last couple of years and I'm pretty sure its the cause of the last couple of stones around my gut! To be honest, once I move into my new house I doubt I'll be able to afford to drink as much as I do now so hopefully this will help my bank balance too. I'm also going to try and cut down on my snacking (crisps are my ultimate down fall) and eating processed foods.

 

Like I said, I don't want to make any drastic changes that will throw me back to my old ways again. I want to improve my general health and lead a healthier lifestyle. If any of you have any tips for how to do this then by all means let me know. I am always open to advice on how to be healthy.

 

Hope this hasn't depressed you too much (or forced you to put down that chocolate biscuit you were enjoying!) and I hope you all have a good week!

 

Louise xoxo