How I Lost 9kg and Still Ate Chocolate Cake (2)

In Part 1 of this article series I wrote about how I have struggled with my weight since I was a teenager. Part of this has stemmed from my dietary habits - I’m a sweet fiend who eats for many reasons other than to fuel the body - and the rest from a general distaste for exercise.

In How I Lost 9kg and Still Ate Chocolate Cake (1) I started out with an holistic approach and outlined what I believe are the two most important changes you can make in deciding to lose weight. They were:

Accept the body you have. Love and respect it the way it is

Find your weight loss motivation and make a conscious decision to change your life

This inner work is the foundation upon which the external changes are based. Beating ourselves down with criticism is no way to build self-esteem. Loving and accepting your body the way it is will not only help you become more positive about who you are, but it will gradually affect your choices so that you are more likely to respect yourself enough to live in a way that makes you feel good (and seriously who feels great when they’re overweight and unfit?).

Being kinder to yourself will also help you get more in touch with your body so it is easier to stay motivated with the life changes you will inevitably have to make. I’m sorry if any of you thought I was going to stay with all the warm and fuzzy emotions here. I’m not. Losing weight and maintaining a trim, healthy body takes work and commitment, and somewhere in there you’re going to have to exercise, which leads me to the following changes:

Move more. Find exercise you can enjoy. Have fun. Throw yourself into life

Hopefully, you have a lot of years on this planet and using them to suffer with physical ailments and self loathing is not the best use of your time and spirit. Don’t waste the years when you are young and able sitting on the sidelines waiting for your turn to shine. There is no turn taking in life. You’re either living today or wasting today. That’s it.

Engage with the world and appreciate the gift of breath and movement in your body. You deserve to have joy and excitement in your world. Seek it out. Fun doesn’t come via the television remote control. Get out there and try new experiences. Being overweight does not make you less worthy of having the very best. Stop using it as an excuse to not live.

The first change you can make physically is to add more movement to your day. Travelling in third world countries was a revelation for me because I got to see just how inactive our lives are in the Western world. We have machines to do so much of our manual labor, and even then, some of us outsource the rest. In Nicaragua, I actually washed all my clothes by hand on a washboard like the locals use, and I can tell you, it’s great for upper body strength and quite a workout. I ached the next day, but the women around me did it every day, and not just for themselves, but for entire families.

Now, I’m not suggesting you throw out the washing machine, but you can certainly find ways to walk more, climb more stairs and get more physical around the house and in the garden. I always run the stairs inside my home and I play chasings and kick a soccer ball around with my 4 year old - activities like this are not only good for your health, but good for your relationship with your kids. Another option is to buy a pedometer and count your average daily steps and calories burned. See what you start with and aim to reach at least 10,000 steps a day, even if it takes a month. Work at a pace that is right for you. Consistency is more important than being super active one week and then sedentary for the next two.

To take care of yourself long term you’re going to have to find an exercise/physical activity that you can stick with. To alleviate boredom I advise mixing your exercise up. I started with walking and interval training, then moved to the gym and introduced upper body weights, aerobics, the treadmill and the rowing machine. I swapped and changed until I found my perfect combination. I discovered boxing and now I am addicted. Currently, I box and run, or walk the hills around my home and do some free weights, rowing and basic yoga. I love dancing too, so after I get back from Spain I’m going to take a Latin dance class. The key is to stay excited and keep it fun.

I used to think that I could never learn to enjoy working out; I’m much happier with a glass of wine in my hand than a barbell. But these past months I have proven to myself that anyone can learn to like exercise. It’s a mindset; be positive about what you’re doing for yourself and remember exercise is movement and the body was made to move.

Your body and mind are designed to feel better when you exert energy. It relaxes the muscles, allows the mind to slow as the body takes over and can actually be quite meditative. And I’m sure everyone knows that exercise releases feel-good endorphins in the brain, which reduce stress and elevate your emotional state. Indeed, exercise is considered an essential tool for anyone who is depressed or suffering from anxiety. So, get out there and experiment with ways to add movement and exercise into your life. Make time for yourself and get involved in life. See what new passions you can discover. I never thought I could become a boxing fan, but there you go, life is always waiting to surprise you if you let it.

Enlist a friend or a trainer to kick-start your exercise habit

Starting an exercise routine can be hard work, but it’s nowhere near as hard as maintaining an exercise habit. When I first started working out last year I was walking for 30 minutes and trying to work up to running. At first things were going well, then my fitness and results hit a plateau and I became unmotivated. I wondered what the point was and felt like giving up. It was then that I decided to get honest; I just wasn’t working hard enough. Exercise of any kind had become so foreign to me that I was patting myself on the back for anything at all. “Oh, you walked 5 minutes to get the paper. Good on you, girl. No need to leave the sofa for at least four more days!” I sound like I’m joking, but I’m sad to say I’m not. The situation really was that bad.

I’m not saying that initial efforts shouldn’t be commended. They should. But at some point you’ve got to push your body and raise your expectations. You can derive health benefits from 30 leisurely minutes of walking a few times a week, but you’ll have to do more than that to lose weight and increase your fitness level. It was time to get real. I needed someone to motivate me and help me stick to a regular routine, so I joined the gym with my mum and started seeing a personal trainer twice a week. This was the best thing I could have done.

Having a trainer absolutely kicked my ass! The first few sessions I thought I was going to pass out, but then I started to see and feel results and soon I actually looked forward to the punishment. I learned what it feels like to work the body, hit the first wall where you feel like quitting, then push some more and suddenly you’re transported to this almost exhilarated state where every movement becomes fluid and you are so in the zone it’s like you could fly. I now love that feeling, and I know unless I’m breathless and dripping with sweat, then I haven’t worked hard enough. An important thing to note here is I am talking from the viewpoint of someone who has no health issues affecting my work-outs. I can push my body, but if you want to start a rigorous exercise regime make sure you get your doctor’s okay first.

I no longer see my trainer because I know what I have to do and I am capable of pushing myself. I still work out with mum sometimes - we both love to box - but overall I have made it through that precarious habit-forming stage. Having someone to motivate me, show me what to do and keep me accountable was a crucial step in establishing my exercise habit. I urge you to be honest with yourself about whether you need some structure and encouragement to get you started. I realize gyms and trainers can be costly and I struggled with that as well, but your health is worth it and personally I found the savings from less trips to doctors and specialists made up for a lot of the expense.

Think long term and persevere, even when you can’t see the results you would like

Your continued health and fitness requires more than a diet or exercise fad. I truly believe diets don’t work. For starters, it makes you obsessed with food and everything that you CAN’T EAT. This is just negative reinforcement, and it’s not sustainable for you to swear off your favourite foods forever.

Think of yourself as a new person with a new life ahead of you. That person wants to look good, feel good and have great health. That person wants to exercise and eat better. This is a long term lifestyle change, not a weight loss sprint. You are not in competition with anyone. If someone else is getting faster and better results than you, it doesn’t matter. Everyone is different and sometimes it takes time to really see the fruits of our labor. Concentrate on how you feel because I guarantee that if you exercise and eat healthier foods more often than not, you will feel better. Stay focused on your real motivation and do the work, and eventually you will end up with the best body that you are genetically capable of.

The third installment of this series can be found here.

Photo1 by WhatDaveSees
Photo2 by mikebaird

Tagged as: diet, exercise, Goals, Health & Fitness, weight loss, work out