Since stopping gymnastics at the age of 16 I slowly, but surely piled on the weight. I didn't even realise that I'd put on so much, because I had never weighed myself before, I always presumed I was around 7 stone- wrong! I was 9 stone 12, and I'm not even 5 ft. My BMI was 27.6 and I was over weight. Not only was I over weight I wasn't at all in shape compared to how I was the summer before. I hadn't done exercise for a year, and I knew that getting back into it wouldn't be easy.
Summer 2009/2010
Weight 138lbs
Summer 2013
weight 105lbs
I am very proud of my before and after pictures, although I still find it hard to look at the before pictures. I genuinely didn't think I was that size or shape. In April 2011 I was inspired by another girls weight loss, she seemed to have lost loads of weight and she looked fabulous. I messaged her to see what she had been doing, and her reply literally changed my life. She explained that it's a lifestyle now, not a diet, and she was so much happier, healthier & fitter. It's about eating the right things most of the time, and having a bit of what you fancy when you fancy it as long as you've exercised. Moderation! Before reading this message I literally thought I was addicted to food. Every night I'd go to bed thinking 'right my diet starts in the morning' come downstairs and have toast and chocolate spread because I just LOVED it so much! However, I did like healthy food, I enjoyed it, I just often couldn't be bothered to make it! I was stuck in a rut after starting my first full time job with spit shifts.
I started using my split shifts to my advantage, I joined a gym and went there in-between my morning and lunch shifts and took my lunch in a pack up. I would prepare meals to avoid rushing, and I would ensure I did some form of exercise six days a week. This was usually a few gym sessions a week doing 40 minutes of cardiovascular (walking, running, cycling, rowing, cross training) or going for a 40 minute walk with the dog. With in the first four weeks I lost 10lbs! It was dropping off me, yet I was still having puddings twice a week, and usually cheese, or maybe a bit of chocolate most days. This really started to show me how little exercise I must have been doing before, and how much food I must have been eating! I never pushed it and never though of this as a diet, it literally was a case of making the right food choices. Over 18 months I lost 33lbs which is 2 and a half stone, and over the next six months I have managed to maintain that weight loss, without struggling too much. Yes I go up and down a couple of lbs, but I stay between 103-108 lbs, and I feel comfortable. Don't get me wrong, there's still bits I don't like, surely we all have that?! I have the shortest legs in the world, my calves and thighs are probably the same circumference, but I only have to look at my mother's legs to see where I get them from! There's something's we can't control but putting the right foods in your body and getting out and about to exercise is something we have full control over. I honestly believe that everyone can achieve a healthier lifestyle, and I am so glad I have realised this for myself. I am a completely different person to the girl I was in 2010 and I am so much happier how I am now. I wanted to start writing a blog so that anyone who reads this feels they can change, and they can do it, because I am so passionate about how much a healthier lifestyle has changed my life.
Good luck to anyone starting their healthier lifestyle journeys,
believe in yourself, you are amazing and you can do it, x
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