Day 279 in my miracles life
I must admit when i first began to change the way i eat, when i first put myself on a “diet” i did the wrong way. Yes i lost weight, i lost 10kg in 5 months, but i put it all and more back on.
I wanted to loose weigh for my wedding, i wanted to walk down the isle and for people to say “wow, look how much weight she has lost” i wanted to be noticed, but for all the wrong reasons. I wasnt looking to change my lifestyle, i wasnt looking to change the way i lived, i just wanted to walk down the isle in a size 8 as i had never been a size 8 before.
And i did, i walked down the isle in a us size 4 dress.
But then i went on a two week honeymoon – enjoyed every second of it, boy did i enjoy every second of it, pasta, bread, sweets, chocolate croissants, meat, sweets… Every delicious food under the sun – but of course i put all the weight right back on.
I was back to being nearly 70- something kilos, i hated the way i looked, i hated the way i felt i hated not having anything to wear, i hated shoving shit in my mouth every day, i just hated it, but i didnt want to starve myself for six months again, i couldnt do that again. So i decided to change my lifestyle, i decided to change the way i lived.
It began mostly when one morning i was by chance watching one of those morning shows and i heard someone say something about 21 days to start a habit.
I can do that, i thought to myself, 21 days, yes i could do that, 21 days is easy… I decided to start with walking, so for the next 21 days i got out of bed at 5am and went for a walk, the walking got easy it wasnt a challenge anymore, so i ran a little, walked a little, ran a little walked a little – i got out of bed at 5am rain, hail or shine and i went for my 30 minutes, and believe it or not i actually started enjoying it! The months went by and my body clock changed, no longer did the alarm wake me, i was awake and i was ready to rumble. I was running for 30 minutes a day, my husband had bought me my first ipod, and i was feeling great, i hadnt changed my food, i hadnt lost any weight, but i was feeling good.
Before i knew it the weather was cooling down and the sun was still asleep at 5am, it was becoming too scary to get up at that hour… I honestly had begun enjoying getting up and getting out before work, and i didnt want to stop, so i joined a gym, with the full intention JUST to use the treadmill. I didnt. I used the treadmill, the cross trainer, the rower, the bike – I loved it, i honestly honestly loved it. But it was then, that i started seeing the other ‘gym junkie girls’ working out, when i started seeing their bodies and the way that their nice designer gym gear fit, and as vein and selfish as it sounds – that was when i wanted to lose the weight again, that was when i decided that i wanted to truly ‘be healthy’.
It was at that point that i decided to find a trainer, my sister had one – she was looking good, so i simply hopped onto yellow pages and called the first trainer on the list – no seriously, that is what i did.
That first and only call i made, well it lead me to a really really really awesome trainer. Who would have thunk that the first person you call would turn out the be the best person for the job?
That was in 2008. Since then i have totally changed my lifestyle, i have learned that it is not about “dieting” as such but about changing your habits and changing the way you think about food. Sure i am not perfect, i binged over the weekend, but i know that come monday i have structure, i have a plan, i know what is good for me, what i should be putting in my mouth, and i know that once in a while it is ok to scoff down pizza and cake – just so long as you dont do it every day, just so long as you are willing to get up at 5am and work it out at the gym, just so long as on monday you can go back to your egg whites for breakfast.
It did take time, it did take a while for me to get my head around changing my life style, there have been many many tears, many many guilty thoughts, but it was and is worth it. Now when i go to the gym i get to feel comfortable because i know what i am doing, when i look in my wardrobe i know that the clothes are going to fit and look great – and not entirely because of the reflection in the mirror – that is only a small part of it, but i feel comfortable because i know that i am healthy inside and out and i know that the lifestyle i now lead is a great one, and i can be confident that 95% of the time i am making the right decisions for a healthy lifestyle based on knowledge that i have learned from people who have been willing to pass it along.
Four years ago i never imagined that getting out of bed early for 21 days would lead to this, but it did. I now wake up before the sun, before my alarm, before 5am each and everyday and look forward to exercise. Four years ago i would have never ever in a million years imagined that i would be preparing to run a half marathon, that i would be living my life as a size 10, that i would be eating the foods i now eat – never would have thunk it. Never.
So today i say to you, what can you change in just 21 days? Because quite honestly you never know what your limits are until you test them.
I want to share what i have learned and i want others to know that they can do it too, and if food is challenge make sure you pop over to my cooking page as i am updating it with a NEW category called Every Day Foods! Over time i will be adding all my low carb, low fat recipes as well as new combinations and ideas i come up with for others to enjoy just as much as the Naughty and Nice treats.
