So if you've read Part 1 I bet your imagining this blog is going to be rather smug indeed. Unfortunately for me that's not how it happened. To recap, I had lost over 2 stone and was almost delirious that after so many years being unhappy with my body I was finally happy thanks to some great re-education and will power I hadn't realised I had.
To share your story it has to be the good and the bad or it just isn't real. For the next year nothing much changed. I maintained my aggressive 4-6 times a week training routine and used new found knowledge to make the right choices about my diet. Then came my demise. As I write this I am sad to say I am not happy with my body once more, I am not back to the beginning of my journey but somewhere in-between where I started and what I had achieved.
I am sharing where it went wrong so hopefully anyone heading down the same path can see the warning signs and learn from my mistakes.
London
After filming The Apprentice a year ago I moved to London to start my business. The major impact this had was it broke my routine. I believe routine is so important to maintaining physical goals. I flirted with a few gyms in my new local area but none of them had the same ethos of my familiar one and I fooled myself into thinking I could do without any support. "I know what I am doing now, I will run every morning before work" etc. Plus the London social scene relies so heavily on alcohol. I was going to so many networking events and 'celeb parties', I tried to avoid temptation of the food and drink there but working into the evening instead of going to the gym become a way of life.
Business
I wont dwell too much on this one as I am well known for my belief that women can have it all but I would happily work 24 hours a day on The Link App if I could. Working in your own business absorbs you in a way I cant even explain but this should be no excuse. I mean that, some sort of work life balance has to be achieved or your productivity will ultimately suffer.
Holidays
For a year when I started the business I didn't take one. For me as an avid traveller this was a big deal. Then to celebrate my 30th birthday earlier this year I went to Las Vegas with my friends and Puerto Banus with my family. A wonderful time was had by all and the temptation of the food and drink took me far away from what I knew I should be eating and when I got back I just found it too hard to get back on the wagon.
Love
Its the ago old tale that I never wanted to be a part of (the getting bigger not the hearts and flowers). I met my wonderful guy earlier this year and I had such high hopes for us fitness wise. He has four times the amount of Instagram followers I do, does fitness modelling and that's a major part of his ethos. That combined with my previous journey and passion for fitness we were going to be unstoppable I thought. The reality was we went on lots of amazing dates together, mostly dinners and we seemed to unconsciously give each other permission to depart from all that we had known.
So where am I at now? I am not happy with myself for losing my way. I do not think I am fat and this is something I am keen to stress about my blogs, its not about being skinny or even weight loss if that isn't your goal. Its about being happy with who you are and so much of the physical is linked to the mental. My goal is to lose about a stone over the next 2-3 months in time for my next major holiday. To do this I need help! Partly that will come from you guys, I'd love the support of all you wonderful people, please follow me on social media to share my journey. I have also taken the decision to go on a residential boot camp. So next week I am taking a rare week off from the business and law to plunge myself head on into getting fit again at Europe's leading boot camp. I am excited but nervous. This is me acknowledging that I need help to break out of the bad habits that I have set myself, wish me luck!